UAA competes against University of South Florida in first esports tournament

Having sports withdrawals yet? All major sports leagues and the Olympics might be on hold, but esports is on the rise.

Saturday UAA hosted the first of two esports tournaments with the University of South Florida for a socially distant gaming experience. This weekend, they played Overwatch and Super Smash Brothers.

The tournament's are open to residents of both states but only students can win the prizes. It's a new way for schools to compete against one another as viewers cheer on their favorite team.

"The good thing to remember with this is that every game is different. The difference between football, basketball, rugby, whatever in real life, they all have different player bases and they all have different rules, and so you can't just translate your skill in one and take it to the next, so that's why we're trying to help and engage in all sorts of different audiences," said Cody Buechner, Assistant Director of the Student Union at UAA.

The UAA esports team hopes to host these tournaments monthly against other schools across the country.