Eddy Su is about to enter his freshman year at the University of Washington with $3,000 in his pocket — and he has a video game to thank for it.
He is the recipient of one of the first Collegiate eSports Scholarships from KontrolFreek, a video game accessories company based in Atlanta, GA.
Su will play for UW’s League of Legends team and plans to pursue a degree in Environmental Engineering. He first began competitive gaming in high school.
“I spent a lot of time growing up swimming competitively, which required a lot of dedication and focus on myself and my own technique,” Su said. “League was a wonderful contrast for me because with it, comes the aspect of team play and coordination with your teammates. The fact that eSports are becoming mainstream is wonderful in the sense that it won’t replace, in nature, athletic sports, but offers a new dynamic altogether (much like chess would).”
KontrolFreek is offering scholarships of $3,000 to three collegiate gamers.
Gaming scholarships are on the rise, as eSports experience unprecedented legitimacy and attention. But KontrolFreek CEO Ashish Mistry says his company’s scholarship is the first of its kind. He describes it as the first “merit-based” gaming scholarship, allowing almost any collegiate-level gamer to apply. Applicants can choose any game they want, unlike other grants and competition prizes, which are awarded for specific games.
“It’s one thing for a game developer to hold a tournament for scholarship money, and another for a university to give scholarships to gamers, but when a third-party brand comes in, it lends some credibility to an industry that is very new,” said Mistry. “eSports is huge and getting bigger every day, but no one is talking about the collegiate side of the competition. We think this is a huge opportunity and believe that other brands will jump in here sooner, rather than later.”
Su doesn’t plan to become a professional gamer after college but says he would seriously consider it if the opportunity presented itself. Unless plans change, he’s eyeing a career focused on improving drinking water and environmental sustainability.
