Rainbow Six Siege developer Ubisoft announced the creation of a collegiate league for its flagship esports title. The new league will operate in partnership with online gaming platform and tournament organizer FACEIT. Ubisoft has secured sponsorships for the league with gaming peripherals brand CORSAIR, as well as its subsidiary, Origin PC.
Through an online platform, full-time registered students will be able to form teams to compete in various events, both intramural and with other schools. Additionally, each school will have the option to nominate a single team as its representative for a collegiate championship with a $30K USD prize pool. The first official season is expected to begin in January 2021.
Last year, the NCAA’s board of governors voted unanimously to table the issue of governing esports indefinitely, enabling independent organizations such as Tespa and Collegiate StarLeague, as well as publishers like Riot Games and Psyonix, to continue operating their own collegiate competitions unimpeded.
While collegiate esports is unlikely to become the default track to professional play that it is in many traditional sports, interest in university-based competition has grown in the last year. Recently, entire conferences have begun to organize their own gaming events, such as the Big 12 which will host a Madden NFL tournament with participation from all 10 member schools. The event has also secured its own sponsor in Dr Pepper & Cream Soda.
