INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
PlayVS, the startup bringing an e-sports infrastructure to the high school level, has today announced that it will partner with Riot League
of Legends for its beta season.High school students across five states, including Connecticut, Georgia, Kentucky, Massachusetts, and Rhode
Island, will be able to sign up to play for their school in Season Zero, which begins in October 2018.Around 200 colleges and universities
and Canada are offering esports scholarships, but without any infrastructure around high school esports, those recruiters are left at the
mercy of the publishers and a grueling tournament schedule.Meanwhile, young gamers who want to go pro are forced to gain a following via
Twitch, or hit up all those tournaments and find a way to shine.PlayVS offers access to recruiters while giving high school students the
chance to play competitive esports at the high school level
The startup, backed by Science with $15.5 million in funding, has partnered with the NFHS (essentially the NCAA of high school) to offer
turnkey competition through its dashboard.PlayVS partners with publishers, and lets players sign up, receive team and league schedules,
check standings and stats, and actually play the game all within the PlayVS online portal.PlayVS has a no-cut policy, letting high schools
submit as many unique teams as they like
Given that the company makes money from players themselves ($64/season/player), it makes sense that the company would take a ‘the more the
merrier& approach.The company then divides up those teams into conferences, and the teams play to be conference champions, advance to
semi-finals, and eventually head to the state championship
All the games will be played from the students& own school through the online portal, except for the State Championship tournament which
will have a live spectator audience.This beta season, which includes five states, gives PlayVS a chance to roll out the platform to a
smaller pool of players and work out any issues ahead of the inaugural season, which starts February 2019.
