The best collegiate esports teams in the nation descended upon Harrisburg University on September 24-25 for the finals of the 2022 HUE Invitational Championships. The winners in the nation’s largest collegiate esports invitational were decided for each game category.
Illinois State University took first place in the Overwatch game. Harrisburg University took 2nd. University of St. Thomas too first in the League of Legends game. Harrisburg University teams placed 5th and 6th. And West Virginia University took the top spot in Rocket League.
Created and hosted annually by Harrisburg University of Science and Technology, this year’s HUE Invitational had more than 120 college and university teams participating in Rocket League, Overwatch, and League of Legends.
“This year marked the fifth time the event has been held. As a major staple of collegiate esports, HUE has become such a big part of Harrisburg University’s identity and continues to help position HU as a true leader in higher ed. and esports,” says Joe Gramano, director of Esports Program Director at Harrisburg University of Science and Technology.
In addition to being the largest HUE Invitation held, this year’s event marked a collaboration between HU and three major strategic partners in gaming and esports: Intel, ESET, and Chaos Creative.
Intel, a Presenting Sponsor for HUE and one of the world’s leading chip manufacturers, supplied state-of-the-art Intel® NUC 12 Extreme systems (also known as Dragon Canyon) with 12th Gen Intel Core processors for HUE. ESET, another Presenting Sponsor and the official Scholarship Prizing Sponsor for HUE, is a leading cybersecurity company that emphasizes the importance of security for gamers. Chaos Creative was a Presenting Sponsor and official tournament organizer for HUE 2022.
A leader in the gaming space as it concerns the production and broadcasting of esports events, Chaos helped execute the vision that Harrisburg University has for HUE. HUE brings some of the most anticipated Collegiate Esports competition in being able to provide a truly authentic esports LAN experience to students across North America, fielding the most competitive teams in the continent, says Gramano.
Harrisburg University is one of the first schools to create a varsity Esports team, offering full-tuition scholarships to its players on The STORM. The Harrisburg University Storm is a member of the National Association of Collegiate Esports (NACE). The Storm has won three Collegiate Overwatch National Championships since its inception in 2018. The Storm has won numerous other championships and is a two-time recipient of an international Tempest Award for Best Collegiate Esports Program. The team calls a state-of-the-art, multimillion-dollar facility located in the Whitaker Center for Science and the Arts home.
ABOUT HARRISBURG UNIVERSITY
Accredited by the Middle States Commission on Higher Education, Harrisburg University is a private nonprofit university offering bachelor’s and graduate degree programs in science, technology, and math fields. For more information on the University’s affordable demand-driven undergraduate and graduate programs, call 717-901-5146 or email, Connect@HarrisburgU.edu. Follow on Twitter (@HarrisburgU) and Facebook (Facebook.com/HarrisburgU).
