SPRINGFIELD, Mo., February 11, 2020 — Drury University will host its inaugural Springfield Esports Festival on February 22 and 23 at the O’Reilly Family Event Center. Esports, or competitive multiplayer video gaming, was added to Drury’s athletics lineup as a non-NCAA program this year.
The festival is part of a circuit of events for the Midwest Esports Conference, of which Drury is a member. The Midwest Esports Conference is the first esports specific collegiate conference of its kind. Drury Esports is one of seven teams in the conference, which also includes the University of Missouri, Wichita State University, Robert Morris University, Midland University, Grandview University and Illinois College.
Teams in the Midwest Esports Conference will hold official competitions in a double, round-robin regular season in the game League of Legends. In addition to spectating the conference’s League of Legends contests, attendees can sign up for tournaments in a variety of games.
“We’re really excited to partner with Midwest Esports to bring this new event to the community,” says Michael Jones, Drury’s esports head coach. “Attendees will be able to watch some of the top collegiate teams in the Midwest face against each other and experience the thrill of competition hands-on as well.”
Admission is $12 for one day, or $20 for the weekend. There will also be a stage where the public can spectate these matches. Additional entry fees will be required for competing in each game, with the money placed into a prize pool for the game the player entered. The Esports Festival will be operated by Midwest Esports, a group with more than five years of experience running live esports events.
The list of games includes:
To register, buy tickets and view a full schedule for this event, visit Midwest Esports.
Keep up with the events and announcements of the festival by following Drury Esports on Twitter.
