ESPN Brings Esports To Houston John D May 9, 2019 Esports, News ESPN is trying to cultivate the next big esports stars out there by bringing the Collegiate Esports Championship finals to Houston this week. The competition will be between more than 100 students from 20 colleges around the country. The students will be competing against each other in games like Overwatch and Hearthstone for scholarships. This will actually be ESPN’s first-ever esports championship event and students have been gunning for this since February. Unfortunately, for the state it is taking place, no Texas schools made it to this week’s finals. Nicolas Johnson, the student president of Gaming and Esports said, “Houston is a fantastic place to hold this kind of thing. We have the infrastructure already in place.” If you are looking to attend, the doors will open 9 a.m. daily at the George R. Brown Convention Center in Houston. Tickets are $41-$58 for single day passes, $78-$289 for a three-day pass. Children’s rates are also available. For all the official games, Rules, and times check out the following information directly from the ESPN Events website. The Games Overwatch, Street Fighter V, Hearthstone, StarCraft II and Heroes of the Storm are five games that will bring in the inaugural event. CEC: Countdown Show As the field narrows down weekly in all of the game titles, be sure to tune into the live CEC: Countdown show each Friday beginning on March 29th. Hosts for the show on 5/3 are Alex Corea (@alexcorea) and BlackKrystel (@BlackKrystel). The show can be viewed live at 8 ET/7 CT, as well as on replay, at the following locations: Twitch.tv/ESPNEsportsYouTube.com/ESPN_EsportsTwitter.com/ESPN_EsportsESPN3Caffeine.tv/ESPN Qualifying Teams/Matchups The championship weekend will host the following top teams in each game title: Hearthstone – 4 teams Georgia Institute of Technology vs. Rochester Institute of TechnologyUniversity of Minnesota – Twin Cities vs. University of Oregon Heroes of the Storm – 2 teams California State Polytechnic University – Pomona vs. Rutgers University Overwatch – 8 teams Maryville University vs. Carleton UniversityNew Jersey Institute of Technology vs. Harrisburg University of Science and TechnologyGrand Canyon University vs. Orange Coast CollegeRutgers University vs. University of Utah StarCraft II – 4 teams University of California – Berkeley vs. University of California – San DiegoUniversity of Chicago vs. University of Waterloo Street Fighter V: Arcade Edition – 4 teams New Jersey Institute of Technology vs. University of Nevada, Las VegasLambton College vs. Sheridan College Schedule Friday, May 10 9 AM – Doors Open10:10 AM-4 PM – Overwatch Quarterfinals4:20-7:20 PM – Hearthstone Semifinals Saturday, May 11 9 AM – Doors Open10:10 AM-1:20 PM – Overwatch Semifinals1:50-5 PM – StarCraft II Semifinals5:20-7 PM – Hearthstone Championship Sunday, May 12 9 AM – Doors Open10:10-11:50 AM – Overwatch Finals 12:20-2 PM – Heroes of the Storm Finals2:20-4:50 PM – StarCraft II Finals5:20-6:20 PM – Street Fighter V Finals