Gamer.LK announces annual Inter-University Esports Championship powered by SLT

For the fourth consecutive year, Gamer.LK, the pioneer in Esports and digital entertainment in Sri Lanka, brings the excitement and thrill of competitive video gaming to the university-level with the Inter-University Esports Championship powered by Sri Lanka Telecom PLC.

Considered the largest university-level sporting event in the country, this year’s event will have over 40 universities taking part. Gamer.LK has partnered with MTV and MBC to have the event televised on TV1, making it the first Esports event in Sri Lanka to be watchable both on digital media streams as well as traditional television.

The championship will be held in two segments, with the qualifiers taking place on 15 and 16 June and the grand finals happening on 6 July at Stein Studios Ratmalana. 

Esports in Sri Lanka has seen tremendous growth in the past years with recognition by the National Olympic Committee and representation at the 18th Asian Games with the support of the Sports Ministry of Sri Lanka. Gamer.LK’s Inter-University Esports Championship is endorsed by the Sri Lanka Esports Association, the governing body for Esports in Sri Lanka.

The championship provides a unique platform for students from universities and higher education institutes to compete across the most popular video games in Sri Lanka. 

This year’s event will feature team games - Call of Duty 4, Counter Strike: GO, Dota 2, League of Legends, Overwatch, Rainbow Six Siege, PUBG Mobile and Mobile Legends, along with individual games – FIFA 19, Tekken 7, Fortnite, Mortal Kombat XL, eRacer (simulator racing) and Clash Royale. A dedicated women’s league with Mario Kart 8, PUBG Mobile, eRacer (simulator racing) and Mortal Kombat XL will also take place at the Championship with the aim of promoting Esports to women. 

Last year’s championship saw the participation of over 40 leading government and private universities as well as educational institutes such as the University of Colombo, University of Peradeniya, University of Jaffna, APIIT, SLIIT, IIT, ICBT, ESOFT, ACBT, Sir John Kotalawela Defence University, NIBM, NSBM and many more. The event which began in 2016 with the intention of bringing the positives of structured competitive video games to universities has grown year on year with the following universities claiming the Championship over the years:

2016: Asia Pacific Institute of Information Technology (APIIT)

2017: International College of Business & Technology (ICBT)

2018: Sri Lanka Institute of Information Technology (SLIIT)

This year’s event will feature qualifiers where participants from all universities will take part. Thereafter, the top two universities from the qualifier will move on to a grand finals where participants from each of the two qualified universities will take part across a selected set of games. 

This year’s championship is powered by Sri Lanka Telecom PLC which comes onboard as the Title Partner for the event. All games and live streams will be run via super-fast SLT Fibre connectivity allowing low latency, lag-less gameplay and streaming. Sri Lanka Telecom PLC has been at the forefront of empowering digital entertainment and Esports in Sri Lanka with product offerings catering to gamers in the country.

A trusted brand in the technology sector, DELL is the Gaming Laptop Partner for the event. DELL is delving into the gaming space with its DELL gaming line of laptops – premium design with thin bezels and lightweight for portability. These machines have unrivalled power with gaming-grade internals that will pump out fluid graphics with even the most demanding games thrown at them. 

Red Bull comes onboard as the official Energy Drink Partner – giving wiiings to the gamers’ Esports sessions and facilitating performance at the next level. Red Bull will be conducting several unique engagements at the qualifiers and grand finals.

FriMi comes onboard as the official Digital Banking Partner for the event. Registration fees and purchases at the venue are seamless with the FriMi app, along with great cashback offers for all participants paying using FriMi. Enabling today’s youth with an end to end digital experience, from opening their primary banking account to handling all their day to day financial transactions, payments and money management all on their mobile phone. 

Taco Bell and Pizza Hut are the official Food Partners at the event, keeping hungry gamers fed and satisfied with food stalls situated inside the tournament premises. Scope Cinemas is Cinema Partner and Atom Media is Digital Signage Partner for the event. 

For more information and registration for the Inter-University Esports Championship, visit https://university.gamer.lk and follow Gamer.LK on Facebook via www.fb.com/gamerlk for updates.