Orlando, Fla. — Online gaming—the only major sport impervious to the pandemic’s freeze on competitive entertainment.
And despite being thousands of miles apart, the University of Central Florida’s E-Sports Club were crowned the reigning champions of June’s Collegiate Star League’s 2019-20 Counter Strike Global Offensive Season competition.
The team won $20,000 for landing first place among 160 other teams nationwide.
In the age of COVID-19, the E-Sports industry grows stronger as players continue practicing from home and online gaming viewership expects to garner an audience of more than 500 million people worldwide by the end of 2020.
A news release from UCF says the team’s close friendships played a key role in their victory against the University of California, Santa Cruz.
🎮Esports with @IMSports + RWC➕= Fun 🎉 for ⚔️ Knights https://t.co/UypWA3wbKz
— UCF Recreation and Wellness Center (@UCFRWC) July 1, 2020
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