Georgia State’s PantherLAN Esports Tournament Moves Online to Twitch March 28-29

ATLANTA—Because the safety of the Georgia State University community is its highest priority, during the coronavirus pandemic, the Georgia State Esports PantherLAN Tournament will be livestreamed on Twitch March 28-29. The tournament was originally scheduled to be held at Georgia State Stadium.

Spectators can view competition online through the university’s Twitch feeds at https://www.twitch.tv/georgiastateu and https://www.twitch.tv/georgiastateu2.

Games that will be played include “League of Legends,” “SMITE,” “Paladins” and “Overwatch.”

The semi-annual PantherLAN attracts players from colleges and universities around the Southeast. The previous PantherLAN this fall was held at Georgia State Stadium for the first time, attracting students, esports enthusiasts, game companies, entertainment companies and members of the public.

Georgia State’s varsity esports program is housed at the Creative Media Industries Institute (CMII) at Georgia State.

“As a group of creative people, we are viewing this as a unique opportunity to offer a competitive and entertaining tournament as we all practice social distancing,” said Brennen Dicker, executive director of CMII.

“Through this, we can maintain a safe environment for our competitors and spectators while still allowing them to participate. This was a large undertaking to move this event online, and we appreciate all of the effort that it took to keep this tournament alive.”

The PantherLAN event is co-sponsored by the Georgia Game Developers Association and the National Association of Collegiate Esports.

Varsity esports at Georgia State have benefits beyond game play. With its home in CMII, students have access to immersive, practical experiences within a rich emerging technologies environment that includes virtual and augmented reality, and game design and development. CMII programs empower students to design their own degrees in media entrepreneurship and game design and development.

For more information about Georgia State Esports, visit http://esports.gsu.edu. For more about the Creative Media Industries Institute, visit http://cmii.gsu.edu.