There has been much speculation and debate about a certain agreement for months; however, on Friday, March 9, ESPN announced that the National Hockey League and eSports would be teaming up to create a 2018 NHL Gaming Championship that will be available to gamers on Playstation 4 and Xbox One consoles.
This gaming tournament is meant to be a risky partnership between the NHL and three of its global broadcast partners: NBC Sports, Sportsnet in Canada and Viasat in Sweden. Starting on Saturday, March 24, gamers from Canada, the U.S and the European Union who registered played each other in one-on-one qualifier rounds for the tournament.
Finalists then participate in regional rounds. European finalists will compete on Sunday May 6, Canadian finalists on Friday, May 11 and American finalists on Sunday, May 20.
The winners and runner-ups from each of those regions will then compete against each other in the final round at the eSports Arena at the Luxor Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas on Tuesday, June 19, for a share of $100,000.
Landscaper Chris Veno is a big fan of eSports because it allows people to make money just for playing their games; however, he feels that he could only qualify for novice tournaments instead of major ones. Veno is also a fan of NHL, as he has played all of their games from 2011 through 2018.
“I like how you can play with teams that are not in the NHL and I like how you can play as international teams,” Veno said.
Veno has heard about the upcoming NHL eSports tournament and is very interested in it; however, he doesn’t feel that he could qualify because he believes that all the other participants are way better than him.
“I might participate in tournaments in the future for people that aren’t experts at NHL,” Veno said.
Cabrini sophomore criminology major Kyle Hopkins is also fond of NHL games, having played them since “NHL Hitz” back in 2001. Hopkins likes to play these games because each new version appears more realistic and because he appreciates the customization options for the teams’ jerseys and the arena.
Even though he did not hear about the upcoming tournament beforehand, Hopkins feels that he could qualify for it with his teammate and old friend, CJ LaMantia, whom he has played with for quite some time.
“If we can qualify, I definitely think we’ll take the opportunity,” Hopkins said. “We may not win, but we can enjoy the experience and maybe learn how to become better players from it.”
Cabrini alumnus Dan Luner is an avid NHL player as well. He played “NHL ’99” when he was a kid and has been playing the series ever since. Even though he does not think he can participate in eSports events due to the responsibilities in everyday life, Luner loves eSports and NHL games all together.
“What I like about Esports, the NHL series and the combination of the two is that I learn things about the game that game I never knew and see plays occur that are highly unlikely to happen in real hockey,” Luner said.
Luner also likes to watch videos from “game changers,” who are people that make videos of themselves playing the games and upload them to Youtube. However, these people are also recognized by the developers, EA Sports, as people who have made significant accomplishments in the history of the game. As a result, the creators and players then exchange services to evolve the community and increase the game’s popularity.
Luner has heard about upcoming tournaments such as the “NHL 18 Snider Hockey Cup” and is a huge fan of them. Even though inclement weather prevented him from attending the championship round, he plans to watch it through World Gaming’s Twitch Channel. Luner is also very proud that the NHL is merging with eSports.
“Integrating hockey eSports with an actual hockey nonprofit is worth a round of applause to those that conceptualized and facilitated this first event,” Luner said. “I’m even more thrilled that for the first year, the tournament ended in Philadelphia, and I can only hope it will grow to more hockey cities and communities, bringing these two similar, but unique, communities together.”
Even though a select group of people hope to qualify for the tournament, it is clear that there is a lot of excitement and support for this tournament, especially in the eSports and NHL gaming communities.
“I’ve met many good friends from around the country through this game, but in the end, all of us play for fun and to relax,” Luner said.
