Collegiate esports body to offer scholarships for varsity athletes

MANILA, Philippines — Opportunity awaits aspring esports athletes heading into college as the Collegiate Center for Esports (CCE) aims to make available scholarship opportunities.

The recently established organized collegiate esports league is set to offer learning opportunities through scholarship to varsity athletes in the groundbreaking league.

Aside from giving esports athletes an organized campus-based platform to showcase their online gaming wares, esports varsity players could also earn scholarships — much like their student-athlete counterparts in traditional sports.

"That's the goal, providing scholarships for players," said CCE spokesperson Waiyip Chong.

"CCE envisions to build that bridge for the Filipino dreamers in this modern age," he added.

Advocating for both academic and sporting excellence through the platform of esports, the CCE will allocate the prizes and rewards for its inaugural tourney set later this year to scholarship purposes for the aspiring esports players set to have debuts in the official CCE season.

A select number of schools have already taken steps in shifting to the growing industry of esports and gaming.

Lyceum of the Philippines University, for its part, has already launched the country's first Bachelor of Science in Esports with tracks on Esports Management and Game and Design Development.

De La Salle-College of St. Benilde has also begun to offer relevant courses through the Bachelor of Science in Interactive Entertainment and Multimedia Computing, Major in Game Development and Major in Game Art.

The CCE has kicked off collegiate esports action over the weekend with Mobile Legends: Bang Bang 1-on-1 Exhibition Matches where varsity athletes from 10 renowned universities and colleges in Metro Manila representing their schools in friendly games.

The 1-on-1 exhibition matches are a prelude to the CCE's main event launch in October which will feature a 5-on-5 MLBB Varsity Cup.

To kickstart its participation, basketball players from Arellano University, St. Benilde, Emilio Aguinaldo College, Jose Rizal University, Colegio de San Juan de Letran, Lyceum, Mapua University, San Beda University, San Sebastian College - Recoletos, and University of Perpetual Help System DALTA, will be the first to participate in the league.