University of Texas at Arlington Team Wins College Tuition at Heroes of the Dorm

A sharp performance in the finals of the Heroes of the Storm^® competition catapults the University of Texas at Arlington to the top of collegiate esports

IRVINE, Calif.–(BUSINESS WIRE)– College eSports was the winner as the University of Texas at Arlington went all in to take the Heroes of the Dorm National Championship in Las Vegas, sweeping Louisiana State University to claim the top prize of full tuition for each of its five players for the remainder of their college careers. UT Arlington’s squad triumphed by going 29-0 in the most competitive Heroes of the Dorm yet, as this year’s tournament featured additional stages of intense competition leading up to the climactic Heroic Four.

Regardless of talent selections or Battleground choices, UT Arlington stayed aggressive, punishing opponents for every mistake with multiple takedowns. The undefeated run did a lot to erase the sting of last year’s bitter loss to Arizona State University in the National Championship, and UT Arlington’s focus was the dominant theme in the 2017 Heroic Four.

“All of us want to continue going forward as a team and see what we can do off the momentum of this win,” said team captain Yusuf ‘Kure’ Sunka. “Last year a couple members of ASU, they went on to succeed in HGC off of the momentum of their win. So we’re looking to do the same thing: keep maturing as a team and this is only a first step for us.”

“Congratulations to the 2017 Heroes of the Dorm, UT Arlington, for an awesome run through this year’s tournament,” said Mike Morhaime, CEO and cofounder of Blizzard Entertainment. “The teams competing represent the future of competitive gaming, and it’s been a thrill seeing them in action. We appreciate all the students and college sports fans who participated in this year’s competition, and we’re looking forward to even more Heroes of the Storm^® esports leading up to BlizzCon this November.”

Collegiate eSports fans contributed to the excitement around Heroes of the Dorm by submitting thousands of entries for the 2017 Bracket Challenge and the all-new Pick ‘Em Challenge. The top entry in the Bracket Challenge is set to receive $10,000. The Pick ‘Em Challenge let participants choose one of the Heroic Four teams and rewarded them with as many as seven Heroes of the Storm Stimpacks—which provide an experience and gold boost when playing the game—based on how well their team performed.

This year’s tournament was streamed exclusively via Facebook Live on the Heroes of the Storm eSports Facebook page—where fans can also go back to relive all of the action of the tournament, including the dramatic Heroic Four.

The University of Texas at Arlington has claimed the Heroes of the Dorm National Championship, but collegiate eSports continues in 2017 with several events in the Tespa Collegiate Series, including the Hearthstone^® National Championship and the Overwatch^® Training Grounds, still to come. Visit the official website at tespa.org for more information.

About Heroes of the Storm

Heroes of the Storm brings together a diverse cast of iconic characters from Blizzard’s far-flung realms of science fiction and fantasy, including the Warcraft^®, StarCraft^®, Overwatch^®, and Diablo^® universes. Across the Battlegrounds of the Nexus, teams of five players come together to compete in epic, adrenaline-charged battles where only coordination, teamwork, and strategy can win the day. To learn more about Heroes of the Storm, head over to the official website at www.heroesofthestorm.com.

Nathan Stevens

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I have always enjoyed playing video games and am a programming team lead for a video game company. I co-founded Gaming Cypher because I enjoy the gaming community and would like to provide the best news service around. Feel free to ask me any questions and I will make sure to get back to you quickly.