ATLANTA -- July 19th -- The National Association of College Esports (NACE) and publisher Hi-Rez Studios will host college national championships for both Smite and Paladins beginning this fall. The joint announcement was made today at the NACE Convention in Atlanta, Ga.
The NACE-sanctioned, college competitions for Smite and Paladins will begin this September and be open to both varsity and club-level university teams. Both national championships will take place on November 17 at Dreamhack Atlanta 2018 and will be broadcast to live-streaming platforms. Each national championship will have $50,000 in scholarship prizes to be awarded to championship winners.
“We are always eager to support competitive communities where there is player appetite,” said Todd Harris, Hi-Rez Studios COO. “We have been working closely with NACE on varsity esports since May and they are doing an amazing job putting structure and regulation around college esports competition. We are thrilled to further extend our partnership with this official NACE championship for both Smite and Paladins”
“We excited to be working so closely with Hi-Rez on this fall college season and championship event,” said Michael Brooks, NACE Executive Director. “Partnering with publishers is critical for the growth of collegiate esports and Hi-Rez is one of the first publishers to recognize and address this need.”
