Gen.G are pioneering esports initiatives at an unprecedented level

Esports pro’s careers start and end young, compared to just about any other industry. Since it’s common to have kids as young as 16 or 17 playing, it’s not a huge surprise that talent scouts look at that age range as well as those just starting college.

With the newfound freedom that college brings for a lot of kids, it’s also not particularly surprising that quite a few delve deeper into their gaming and esports hobbies… and that with official support, in many places! We’re talking about, of course, collegiate esports. Many colleges have dedicated esports scholarships and grants now, esports varsity teams and even their own tournament series open only to students. Of course, esports orgs are equally looking at these events and players… and actively encouraging collegiate esports as they go!

© Gen.G

Some more than others though. One of the most notable ones in that regard is Gen.G. They have a fully established and far-reaching approach to college esports – they even have their own esports foundation that, late last year, called for applications from college freshmen. The point of the foundation was to develop young talent in gaming while also supporting their regular studies – everything a college esports fan could hope for.

In addition to that, they also partnered with various universities directly, such as the University of Kentucky in the US, or Yonsei University in Japan – it’s quite a varied selection!

ChallengHER series by Gen.G and University of Kentucky

The ChallengHER series is envisioned as an all-women tournament to broaden the inclusive and positive environment for women in esports. Competitions are set for 10-17 of July. Valorant and League of Legends have been selected as the target games, with 5v5 & 2v2 tournaments held for each.

On top of that, Gen.G partnered with various content creators to help raise funds on August 7th with all donations going to Kentucky Children’s Hospital. The Livestream will be broadcast on Twitch.tv/universityofky.

Gen.G’s history in college esports

It goes beyond that though – over the years, Gen.G has supported things like the Women in Games high school invitational, a female-focused tournament and camp that took place in LA in May 2020. Most recently, Gen.G has once again announced a slew of new events in their collegiate esports efforts – tournaments in League of Legends, Rocket League, and Valorant, featuring several American universities, including but not limited to the Universities of Alabama, Georgia, Kentucky, and Missouri.

The goal of the events isn’t just to celebrate the partnership between Gen.G and the universities, but also to, well, give students something to do during the Covid-19 pandemic. The US remains heavily affected, and students have especially been hit hard. Having positive events to look forward to and event remotely participate in is no doubt a good way to connect to others in this period of isolation.

We can only hope more esports organizations take the well rounded approach Gen.G takes when developing the esports ecosystem as a whole.