The first Catalan University e-Sports Championship is about to kick off

The competition's preliminary phase was held during March; more than 60 League of Legends teams and 190 Hearthstone players competed online to decide who would represent their respective universities. Having formed their teams, the universities that will compete to win the Catalan University League of Legends Championship are: UAB, UAO, UB, UdG, UdL, UOC, UPC, UPF, URL, URV and UVIC-UCC. And the universities that will vie for top place in Hearthstone are: UAB, UB, UdG, UOC, UPC, UPF, URL, URV and UVIC-UCC.

Saturday will be the day when we will know which is the top university in e-sports. So that everyone competes in equal conditions, as in any other sports event, LVP referees will ensure that everyone plays fairly, while the Elite Gaming Center will supply the high-performance computers needed to successfully hold the event. Anyone wishing to come as a spectator will have a specially prepared room at the UOC where the different games will be projected.

Schedule and times:

• Friday, 15 April, 5 pm to 9 pm: groups phase.
• Saturday, 16 April, 10 am to 3 pm: quarter finals of Hearthstone and semifinals of League of Legends. And starting at 4 pm, final of League of Legends and semifinals and final of Hearthstone.

Playing for a living

E-sports have their basis in professional online video game competitions organized on an international scale. The number of people following this discipline is fully comparable with traditional sports around the world. Teams or individual players, called gamers, specialized in a specific game compete in the championships.

Just like elite sportspeople, they have sponsors, they train every day with professional coaches and compete in tournaments that would fill real football stadiums and are relayed by online video platforms to millions of viewers. And, just like professionals, they earn large sums of money for their ratings, image rights, prizes, etc.

With 200,000 registered players, the Professional Video Game League (LVP) is the leading e-sports competition in Spain.

The Elite Gaming Center is the first franchise of high-performance centres in Spain, a unique place devoted to competitive video games, where players have access to latest-generation computers and the best facilities for enjoying electronic sports professionally. It will shortly open its first centre in Barcelona.

The UOC is coordinating the 31st Catalan University Championships

With a strong student following, the Catalan University Championships will be holding their 31st edition this year. Organized by the universities' sports services, the Championships seek to promote sports activities at university and help students balance their academic and sports aspirations.

Over a four-month period, 108 teams from all the Catalan universities compete in basketball, handball, indoor football, volleyball, rugby, 7-a-side women's football and 11-a-side men's football. More than 5,500 people took part in the previous championships.

The ECU promotes sport at universities

Catalan University Sports (ECU) is the organization grouping all the Catalan universities and from where the Catalan University Championships are coordinated. Its goal is to promote sports among the members of the Catalan university communities (students, teaching and research staff, and administration and services staff).

As part of its activities, it organizes sports competitions and fosters the values and spirit of sportsmanship among their participants. Coordination of the championships is rotated: each year, it is undertaken by a different university. This year, it is the turn of the UOC.