College scholarship for e-sports athletes launched

Who says e-sports gaming and studying couldn’t exist in the same space? Apparently, it can if you’re an e-sports scholar.

Globe Telecom and national campus e-sports hub Esports AcadArena recently launched a college scholarship program for the benefit of student-gamers who want to use their skills to earn a college degree.

Declared by organizers as the first of its kind in the Philippines, the scholarship program will give grants of up to P50,000 along with 25 to 100 percent tuition coverage for chosen student gamers.

The e-sports merit scholarship grants are categorized into three tiers:

• Competitive Merit (25 percent to 100 percent tuition coverage) Any eligible student from a three-star accredited Alliance Student Organization. The competitive merit scholarship category is open to active rosters of Alliance member schools that have shown good character and performance in any of the games under AcadArena.
• Leadership Merit (25 percent to 100 percent tuition coverage) The leadership merit scholarship category is open to support staff of the Alliance member schools that have shown good character and contribution to the growth of the campus e-sports scene in their community.
• Family Good Game Grant (P25,000 to P50,000 grant) Any eligible student from any AcadArena Alliance Student Organization. The family good game grant is open to families of players with good character who qualified in any official tournament of the AcadArena whether for the AcadArena University Alliance Cup or the AcadArena National Campus Open.

The scholarship program is open for players of various games, including Hearthstone, League of Legends, Mobile Legends: Bang Bang, and Valorant.

The scholarships are part of AcadArena’s Alliance Program, a student org support system and nationwide network of schools that gives students resources and guidance to build their campus e-sports program.

Interested student organizations from anywhere in the country can apply for accreditation in order to access monthly tournament support, exclusive league access, industry support, scholarships and more.

Currently, there are 13 universities and their corresponding student orgs under the Alliance Program:

• Teletigers (University of Sto. Tomas)
• Viridis Arcus (De La Salle University)
• Loyola Gaming Esports (Ateneo de Manila University)
• Oblation Esports (University of the Philippines-Diliman)
• Valiant Esports (Holy Angel University)
• Malayan Esports Club (Malayan Colleges Laguna)
• Mapua Gaming Society (Mapua University)
• TUP Gear (Technological University of the Philippines)
• FIT iTamaraws (Far Eastern University-Institute of Technology)
• Haribons (Pamantasan ng Lungsod ng Maynila)
• San Agustin Golden Eagles (University of San Agustin)
• Golden Lions (Central Philippine University)
• Warriors’ Arena (University of San Carlos)

For more information about the scholarship grant and other campus e-sports programs under the Alliance Program, check out AcadArena’s website at http://acadarena.com/alliance.