Gamer.LK, the leader in Esports and Digital Entertainment experiences in Sri Lanka has announced the return of the Inter-School Esports Championship for 2021 powered by Samsung Sri Lanka. This year’s Championship is the 5th edition of the event which has come to be known as the largest school-level sporting event in the country, with 150 schools from across the island taking part in the last edition.
The Championship this year has moved to a completely online setting due to the ongoing pandemic situation, allowing competitors to take part from the safety of their own home across 20 popular gaming titles. Esports athletes from any government or international school can represent their School and compete across a number of team games (Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare, Call of Duty Mobile, Dota 2, Free Fire, League of Legends, Mobile Legends, PUBG Mobile, Rainbow Six Siege and Valorant) and individual games (Assetto Corsa eRacing, Clash Royale, FIFA 21, Real Cricket and Rocket League). In addition, Call of Duty: Warzone, Fortnite and Halo Infinite will be held as exhibition, promotional titles. The Championship will also feature a Women’s League (with Clash Royale, Dota 2, League of Legends, Mario Kart Tour and Valorant) in order to recognise the best female student Esports athletes in Sri Lanka.
The Championship began in 2016 with the intention of showcasing the positive aspect of structured and regulated Esports at a school-level. The event has continued with students from national schools such as Royal College, S. Thomas’ College, Ananda College, Nalanda College, D. S. Senanayake College, Isipathana College, Maliyadeva College, Zahira College as well as International schools such as Gateway College, Lyceum International School, Royal Institute and many more taking part. Gateway College has successfully held onto the Championship in all the previous editions held in 2016, 2017, 2018 and 2019 and are the defending champions.
Esports, short for Electronic Sports, is the competitive play of video games – a fast growing sport across the world and an officially recognised sport in Sri Lanka by the Ministry of Sports. Esports athletes from Sri Lanka have represented their country at an international level and are looking to bring home a medal when they compete in Esports at the 19th Asian Games to be held in Hangzhou, China.
Esports has also been recognised as a key focus sport by the Ministry of Sports locally and a healthy exposure to Esports at a school-level plays a vital part in today’s youth gaining the competitive edge as Sri Lanka looks towards international achievements in Esports.
The benefits of Esports are many, with studies showing cognitive growth, better hand-eye coordination, enhanced communication skills with team members and increased critical thinking for problem solving. Gamer.LK extends its fullest support to assist schools to embrace Esports as it is positioned to be the sport of the future.
Samsung Sri Lanka comes onboard as the title sponsor for the Inter-School Esports Championship this year. Samsung has been at the forefront of developing products and services for gamers and promoting Esports in Sri Lanka over the years, as it was identified as the fastest growing sport in the country.. As a result, Samsung in partnership with Gamer.LK have successfully initiated and completed many large scale gaming tournaments, amassing over 1,000 participants from around the country and a staggering 175,000 people watching the tournaments over live-streams.
Registrations for the Inter-School Esports Championship 2021 are now open online at https://school.gamer.lk and will close on 13 December 2021.