Calling All Heroes. The Battle Has Begun.

eSports is exploding in popularity worldwide and will offer tremendous career opportunities in the science, technology, engineering, arts, and math fields for students. But, how do you show students how to turn their passion for video games into a promising career? Introducing the Overwatch Downey Unified High School eSports Tournament, the first high school level eSports Tournament in Los Angeles County.

As part of Downey Unified’s College and Career Readiness Initiative, the registered players from the Downey and Warren High Schools will not only improve their collaboration, problem-solving, and sportsmanship skills, but will also learn how they can turn their passion for video gaming into a career through meeting industry experts and learning how they got careers in the STEAM fields through video gaming. Additionally, every registered player will be eligible to enroll in two free online Game Design courses, each worth three graded college credits, offered by West Hills College Coalinga starting in January 2019.

In the six-week season, teams will compete against the other teams within each school. The program will culminate in a Final Match on Tuesday, Dec. 4, 2018 at the Downey Theatre where the top team from each high school will compete for the grand prize. The teams are comprised of six members with one alternate serving as observer and coach (seven total). Every registered player must be in good standing academically and attend a mandatory career pathway session.

In addition to a trophy, the winning team will get an amazing grand prize package, including: