Kentucky esports hosted 20 teams for its seventh Bluegrass Boost Battle, an intercollegiate Rocket League tournament from Oct. 12-13, at The Cornerstone.
Akron took home the title for the second event in a row in what was perhaps the most prestigious esports event held on campus yet.
“The Bluegrass Boost Battle has stepped up every year in terms of prize pool, in terms of competition, in terms of viewership.” esports Club President Alex Valdivia said.
The prize pool for the event was $4,000, the largest of any of the Rocket League events held at The Cornerstone, and that step up in competition could be felt.
At the last Boost Battle, Akron blew through the group stages and the elimination bracket, dropping only a single game throughout all its matches.
This time, however, Akron lost a total of ten games throughout its tournament run, including a tightly contested quarterfinals against Concord in which the Zips came out on top, winning 4-3.
The level of competition can be attributed to the participation of Collegiate Rocket League teams.
“This is a B-tier event, so one step below the CRL, it’s high level and high quality. They couldn’t all make it, but eight out of the top 10 teams qualified,” Valdivia said. “The competition was awesome, it was really cool to watch.”
These high-level competitions are something the esports club wants to continue hosting and hopes that doing so will bring wider recognition, especially from the University of Kentucky itself.
“The main thing that I want to see out of the university is more student and UK-specific engagement,” Valdivia said. “We don’t have that many students watching the events, which is kind of insane considering what’s going on with the type of event. A lot of students I imagine aren’t even aware of the high-level esports competition we’re having, and that’s a big issue.”
Valdivia believes that with more of a social media presence and a bit more support from the university, the esports club that has already grown so much since its inception can reach even greater heights.
The next LAN event hosted by the club will be a Rainbow Six: Siege tournament on Saturday, Nov. 16, at The Cornerstone.
