The final rounds of the intercollegiate Midwest Esports Conference will take place in Wichita later this month — a competition hosted by a local startup called the Unified Esports Association.
Competing for a $20,000 grand prize, four college varsity teams will compete in the semi-final and grand final matches March 26-27 at Century II Performing Arts Center, in which gaming fans can watch the action in person or via livestream.
Ramsey Jamoul, Unified’s founder and CEO, says the Esports Festival of Wichita is expected to attract a few hundred people to Century II for the weekend.
«We have a little bit for everyone who’s interested in video games,» Jamoul said. «Highly competitive players can come and win prizing, and really grow as a player in their career and get some recognition on stage. But I’d say the average attendee actually has the opportunity to play in pickup games, some competitive competitions, if they’d like.»
The Wichita-based Unified, which facilitates competitions across collegiate and amateur virtual gaming leagues, will transform Century II into a gaming center for the weekend.
The event will be open to the public and runs from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. March 26 and 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. March 27.
The weekend will include gaming environments and props, professional cosplayers, including a costume contest, and an interactive Quest system to navigate the venue and score bonus points.
«It allows you to go from different zones in our area, the battle zone, field zone, we have the arena zone, and a city zone, very much like a theme-park style, where you get to go and explore and take part in small activities, earn quick arcade tickets that you get to spend in our shop for great prizes,»Jamoul said.
There will also be about a dozen separate tournaments in League of Legends, Rocket League, Super Smash Bros., Halo and other games, that are free to enter with a general admission ticket. Each show will offer more than $5,000 in cash and video game merchandise prizes.
Jamoul said Wichita has a growing number of competitive video gamers, especially stemming from Unified’s partnership with the Wichita school district.
«Every high school and middle school in the district now has a computer lab, where they’re actually teaching video game-related courses that’s helping with attendance and GPA, so we have probably the best pipeline for professionals,» he said.
Those students are invited to attend the Esports Festival of Wichita for the chance to meet the collegiate teams competing in the final rounds of the Midwest Esports Conference.
«They’ll have the opportunity to get recruited, really find out more about those programs and hopefully get to graduate with esports being part of the resume,» Jamoul said.
Happening on the main stage, the Midwest Esports Conference will be a culmination of a semester of on-site and virtual competitions among seven varsity esports programs from around the midwest, including Drury University, Grand View University, Illinois College, Ohio Northern University, Ottawa University, Purdue University Northwest, and University of Arkansas.
So far this semester, the teams have competed in Des Moines, Iowa; Ottawa, Kan.; and Springfield, Mo.
Grandview and Purdue Northwest have qualified for the top four, while the other teams are still battling it out for the final two spots.
And the stakes are high. In addition to the $20,000 prize provided by Unified and its partners, schools will be competing for a chance to participate in the official League of Legends College Championship — considered the largest collegiate esports competition.
General admission tickets to the festival cost $30 in advance or $35 at the door. Spectator passes are $15.
Visit unified.gg for a full schedule and to register.
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