Oxford and Cambridge have a long-standing competition that takes place on water, but the feud has also carried over into esports in recent years. The Varsity Esports Match 2018 is their fifth annual competition, and it’s set to take place once more on June 17th.
This was, fittingly, first reported on by the British Esports Association.
More than 120 people are expected to be in attendance to the varsity matches, with streams being hosted on Twitch by Oxford Esports. Oxford University eSports Society (OUES) will take on Cambridge University Digital Gaming Society (CUDGS) at Oxford’s campus.
The organisers explained that “the Oxford-Cambridge rivalry has had the two universities competing in sporting events for well over a century, and we are very excited to see the Varsity Esports Match adding to the history of these two world renowned universities.”
Teams will be carefully selected by each university, with matches taking place over six separate esports titles: Dota 2, League of Legends, Overwatch, Counter-Strike: Global Offensive, Hearthstone, and StarCraft 2.
Couch Casters is on board as an official partner for the event, providing experienced event coordinators, a tech team, production crew, and casters. Twitch is also involved, helping with transport and actual coverage of the event on the platform’s homepage. DinoPC, Razer, noblechairs, and Zowie are all partners of the Varsity Esports Match 2018, too.
Esports Insider says: The Boat Race between Oxford and Cambridge has been around for what seems like forever, and we hope their rivalry becomes as established and hardly fought in the world of esports for just as long. It shows the universities are staying in touch with current trends in sport, and with six titles involved it should prove a fun watch.
