Credit: META High School Esports
Mentioned in this article
- META High School Esports is an Australia and New Zealand student league with competitions across three esports titles.
- The organization is wholly owned by the Adelaide Crows AFL Club, which also owns professional team Legacy Esports.
- META says the sponsorship deal will help develop its online tournament platform as well as host more LAN opportunities for student teams.
Australia’s META High School Esports has won Intel and Acer as major sponsors of its regional esports league. The league was launched in 2018 and is currently in the midst of its second season, with the end of year finals set to take place at the Melbourne Esports Open.
META claims close to 2,000 students are involved with the league across Australia and New Zealand, with tournaments across three games – League of Legends 
, Rocket League , and NBA 2K19 .
META is owned and operated by the Adelaide Crows AFL Club, part of Australia’s biggest sports code, Australian Rules Football. The club also owns the professional esports team, Legacy Esports, which it purchased in 2017. Legacy began as a League of Legends team but now hosts teams across a range of esports.
Related Article: Australia’s HSEL Rebrands to META High School Esports
“Australia and New Zealand’s esports industry is in the middle of a boom period,” Stanthosh Viswanathan, Intel’s Managing Director of Sales and Marketing for Asia Pacific and Japan, said in a press statement.
“It’s a scene filled with so much enthusiasm and we’re proud to be supporting its growth across the region with this sponsorship.”
Nigel Smart, Chief Operating Officer of Adelaide Football Club, said the sponsorship will help META develop its online tournament platform as well as expand its efforts to include training camps and host more LAN event opportunities around the country to give students more exposure to elite styles of play.
“Australia is growing as an important player on the global stage,” Smart said in a statement. “Increased support for our next generation of esports stars will help Australia and New Zealand continue to thrive in esports.”
Speaking to The Esports Observer, Smart also sees the combined relationships the Adelaide Football Club has built around Australian esports can start to connect these grassroots efforts with higher tier opportunities.
“How can the [League of Legends] Oceanic Challenger Series potentially link to high school esports? How does that all link to a potential career in the Oceanic Pro League, and then connect that to international opportunities as well?
“It’s great to have brands like Acer and Intel involved because they are involved globally with esports and can give you insights and huge benefits in terms of what they’re seeing and how to support what we’re building here.”
