Georgia State Stadium Hosts PantherLAN Tournament Nov. 9

ATLANTA–Georgia State University’s varsity esports program will host and compete against multiple college and university teams in the fourth PantherLAN Esports Tournament Saturday, Nov. 9, at Georgia State Stadium, marking the first time the stadium has hosted an esports tournament.

The competition’s live, in-person finals will be held in the stadium’s University Club, and doors will open at 9 a.m. The event, running from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., is free and open to the public.

Registration for the competition’s online portion will open Oct. 3 and end Oct. 17. The competition will run online from Oct. 19 through Nov. 7, and will be streamed through https://www.twitch.tv/georgiastateu and https://www.twitch.tv/georgiastateu2.

Students at Georgia State and college students from outside the university may participate and can register at https://esports.gsu.edu.

Held once each fall and spring semester, PantherLAN will include gameplay in “League of Legends,” “Hearthstone,” “Overwatch,” “Dragonball FighterZ,” “SMITE,” “Paladins” and “Brawlhalla,” and for the first time at PantherLAN, “Tekken.”

The event will also feature esports workshops, a bring-your-own-computer competition, tabletop gaming and an industry expo with companies and organizations from around the Atlanta area.

The tournament has grown significantly, with an expanded regional presence. At least 170 competitors are expected from institutions across the region, and other parts of the Southeast.

Expected competitors hail from such institutions as Georgia Tech, Emory, Kennesaw State University, the University of Alabama, the University of North Georgia, the University of West Georgia,  Georgia College and State University in Milledgeville, Ga., and Mercer University, among other colleges and universities.

Founded in 2017, Georgia State’s varsity esports program participates with other Georgia academic institutions in the Georgia Esports League and is among the more than 100 colleges and universities nationwide participating in the National Association of Collegiate Esports.

Varsity esports provide benefits beyond game play, including student participation in broadcasting, production, marketing, management and game development, a rapidly growing part of Georgia’s entertainment industry.

Team members are eligible to earn scholarships, and are expected to maintain high scholastic performance.

Esports at Georgia State are administered through the university’s Creative Media Industries Institute, which continues to increase the tournament’s production quality and foster exciting game play.

Beyond the collegiate level, esports continue to have a large global impact, with a global market expected to grow up to $1.1 billion in 2019, according to market research firm Newzoo. The market is expected to reach nearly $2 billion by 2022.

The global audience has grown to more than 450 million across livestreaming platforms like Twitch, and through in-person tournaments, where in the private sector players compete for large prizes.

For more information about the tournament and esports at Georgia State, visit http://esports.gsu.edu.