Respawn Entertainment’s battle royale game “Apex Legends” launched less than two months ago, but it already has a college scholarship.
Becker College announced on Thursday it’s partnering with Team Genji and Helix Esports to offer the nation’s first “Apex Legends” esports scholarship program. Helix is holding North America’s largest amateur tournament for the game in April. By competing there, high schoolers have a chance to receive a one-time $5,000 scholarship to the college. Team Genji will collect data during the competition using its advanced esports analytics platform.
“Our goal is to give top ‘Apex Legends’ players a unique chance to combine their talents with an education,” said Becker College Esports general manager Timothy Loew. “As home to the first varsity esports program in Massachusetts and the first bachelor in esports management degree in the U.S., Becker is excited to shape the future of competitive gaming in partnership with two of esports’ leading brands: Genji and Helix.”
Current high school juniors and seniors interested in the one-time scholarship must register for recruitment with Team Genji. After that, they can improve their chances by attending the Helix Esports Apex Legends Combine Tournament in New Jersey in early April. Full tournament rules are available on Helix’s website. Combine players will be evaluated by Team Genji and Becker College staff, with finalists getting an invitation to apply to the school.
“Building a recruiting pipeline from high school to college, and then hopefully to a pro team like Genji is what we’re all about,” said Team Genji CEO William Collis. “There’s so much talent out there and we want to tap into it. This is just the beginning. We’ve proven the power of analytics by using big data to build the world’s number one ‘Hearthstone’ team. And we’re excited to bring our platform into ‘Apex Legends’ with the help of Helix and Becker.”
“Apex Legends” launched on Feb. 4 and quickly gained a following. It reached 50 million players in less than 30 days, an impressive feat in a genre quickly becoming saturated with titles like “Fortnite,” “PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds,” and “Call of Duty: Blackout.”
