North American Scouting Grounds (NASG) for 2019 just ended. NASG is small invitational hosted by the NA LCS. The LCS invites top ranking amateur players to compete for spots on an LCS team. This invitational is one of the best ways to get onto a team because at the end of the tournament, each team in the LCS picks one player to sign. These players then get to play in the Academy League, which is the LCS’s “JV” league.
Three of the players signed this year came from a collegiate program. “Wolfe”, “Julien”, and “Gorica” all found success on Maryville’s and Western University’s league of legends team. That success ultimately led to them getting signed by professional teams. NASG is a sign that success in collegiate can very easily lead to a professional career.
I believe that the careers of these players can be used as testament to the legitimacy of not just the recruiting power of collegiate esports programs, but the program’s ability to launch careers. After all, isn’t the whole point of a college to help people secure jobs? With the continuing growth of the collegiate scene, we can only expect to see more and more players finding spots on professional rosters across many different games.
ALL ON ESPORTS ACTIVATORS 