ST. LOUIS, MO (August 30, 2021) – Ultimate Gaming Championship (UGC), through its scholastic esports arm UGC EDU, has launched UGC Collegiate and UGC Draft to expand its offering for the fall of 2021 and beyond. UGC Collegiate will serve college student athletes across the nation allowing them to take advantage of UGC’s professional-tier esports infrastructure to make Overwatch, Rocket League, and Valorant competitions more seamless than ever before. Similarly, UGC Draft will offer the same competitive infrastructure to high school student athletes and high school age amateurs competing in Rocket League, Valorant, and NHL 21. Both UGC Collegiate and UGC Draft will feature scholarship prize pools totalling over $10,000.

“I am incredibly excited about the potential for UGC Collegiate and Draft. UGC has been committed to building communities and providing top fan experiences, live or online, for the last 10 years. Showing college esports the same attention to that of our professional events will continue to build the industry and foster acceptance across new fans, parents, and scholastic institutions.”, says UGC Founder and CEO Matt Jackson, “UGC’s production team has proven itself as a leader in broadcast viewership and quality within the scholastic space, and we look forward to bringing the same attention to our leagues. In our discussions with educators and administrators we realized there was a major opportunity to do much more for their programs than what was currently being offered elsewhere. Since UGC entered scholastic esports last year, we’ve cultivated a network of sponsors and partners that truly care as much as we do about elevating the student experience in scholastic esports, rather than serving as gatekeepers. Bringing all this experience and good will to our fall offerings means that the sky’s the limit for high school and college esports programs that join.”

UGC Collegiate and UGC Draft will each hold a series of double elimination tournaments beginning September 6th and September 13th respectively to kick off the fall, with regular weekly play opening up on September 22nd. UGC Draft will feature a mid-season invitational tournament which will offer additional prizing and scholarship opportunities. Championship rounds will be held beginning in late November and continue through mid December.

“Being at the helm of a top tier collegiate esports program means I’m always looking for new ways to enhance the experience for our student athletes and further the growth of scholastic esports across the board. I’ve known UGC going back to my time as a professional esports team owner, we even placed second in one of their events in Las Vegas, so I can attest to the quality of the product they deliver.” said Cody Elsen, Esports Director at Northwood University, “Since entering the scholastic space UGC has shown a commitment to the growth of the industry that’s rare to see in an organization like theirs. I’m really looking forward to seeing what they’re able to accomplish with UGC Collegiate and UGC Draft, this fall and beyond.” 

Registration for UGC’s fall leagues is open. Players, coaches, and administrators can visit https://davbam6dreampress.stage.site/events/2021-leagues/ for more information. 

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About UGC: Ultimate Gaming Championship (UGC) is one of the esports industry’s fastest-growing brands. Over the past ten years, UGC has evolved into a full-service esports studio with expertise in producing live and online tournaments. Bringing together all essential elements of esports competition under one brand, UGC develops proprietary tools and turnkey technologies, designs and manufactures custom merchandise, and delivers leading-edge content production and streaming services. A trusted partner among brands and the esports community alike, UGC has organized live and online events for Microsoft, DreamHack, Activision Blizzard, LG Business Solutions USA, Red Bull, and the U.S. Army. Visit https://davbam6dreampress.stage.site/ to learn more. UGC currently offers its technology services to educational organizations and institutions free of charge. Contact Matt Jackson at Matt@davbam6dreampress.stage.site for more information.

About SHI Int’l Corp: Founded in 1989, SHI International Corp. is an $11 billion global provider of technology products and services. Driven by the industry’s most experienced and stable sales force and backed by software volume licensing experts, hardware procurement specialists, and certified IT services professionals, SHI delivers custom IT solutions to Corporate, Enterprise, Public Sector, and Academic customers. With over 5,000 employees worldwide, SHI is the largest Minority and Woman-Owned Business Enterprise (MWBE) in the U.S. and is ranked 10th among CRN’s Solution Provider 500 list of North American IT solution providers. For more information, visit https://www.SHI.com. SHI Blog: http://blog.SHI.com

About LG Business Solutions USA: The LG Electronics USA Business Solutions division serves commercial display customers in the U.S. lodging and hospitality, digital signage, systems integration, healthcare, education, government, and industrial markets. Based in Lincolnshire, Ill., with its dedicated engineering and customer support team, LG Electronics USA Business Solutions delivers business-to-business technology solutions tailored to the particular needs of business environments. LG Electronics USA Inc., based in Englewood Cliffs, N.J., is the North American subsidiary of LG Electronics Inc., a $53 billion global force in consumer electronics, mobile communications, home appliances and air solutions. LG is a 2020 ENERGY STAR® Partner of the Year-Sustained Excellence. For more information, please visit www.LGSolutions.com.