ALBANY, N.Y. – HV Gamer Con returned to the Albany Capital Center in-person this past weekend drawing the best collegiate esports teams from the Eastern College Athletic Conference (ECAC) to compete in Overwatch, Rocket League and Super Smash Bros. Ultimate. The two-day ECAC Invitational Tournament pit competitors from as far away as Boise, Idaho, and Boca Raton, Florida, vying for the number one spot in action-packed video games. Bay State College, located in Boston, Massachusetts, claimed 1st places in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate and Overwatch with New Jersey City University and Boise State placing 2nd.

Hear Boise State Head Coach Doc Haskell speak about the event: https://vimeo.com/690497485

Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI) came in 3rd in Overwatch as did Saint Joseph’s University in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate. The winner of Rocket League was Stockton University located in New Jersey with Wayne State College as the runner up and Florida Atlantic University coming in 3rd place.

“We are thrilled to see some of the most elite programs in the nation travel to Albany to be a part of HV Gamer Con, which has quickly evolved into one of the top intercollegiate esports tournaments in the nation.  The growth of this event mirrors the exponential growth of the ECAC Esports membership,” said Dan Coonan, CEO of the ECAC. “The participants from the 24 teams in attendance this weekend were thrilled. Albany, with its vibrant gaming community and tremendous regional support, is the perfect home for this championship. We look forward to coming back in the years to come and continuing to enhance HV Gamer Con together with the Albany gaming community, whose support for this is essential.”

“We were very happy to welcome back the esports college teams to the Albany Capital Center. We had an impressive debut of HV Gamer Con in 2019 and while the pandemic made us switch gears over the last couple of years, we are confident we’ll continue to build upon the momentum we started with this weekend tournament,” said Shannon Licygiewicz, general manager, Albany Capital Center.

For gamers who enjoy the thrill of professional sports, public tournaments were played in Madden 22 and NBA 2K22 with Compete4Ever Owner and TV Sportscaster Larry Ridley and former pro-athletes Chris Smith and Jay Alford giving play-by-play commentary. A cash prize of $1,000 was awarded to winners of both games. Alexander Lamber (TricSlimeyWorm), a 21-year-old from Dracut, Massachusetts won Madden 22 and 30-year-old Tommie Allen (AllinAllen) from Hartford, Connecticut won NBA 2K 22.

“We had a successful event. It was great being back doing a live event again at the Albany Capital Center,” said Ridley. “There was so much energy in the building playing competitive games all weekend long.”

In addition, Claim to Fame Entertainment hosted a Super Smash Bros. Ultimate tournament with hundreds of entrants and Smite Gaming hosted a public Rocket League Tournament. More than 500 people came through the doors over the course of the weekend.

HV Gamer Con is supported by a Market New York grant from I LOVE NY/New York State’s Division of Tourism, awarded through the Regional Economic Development Council Initiative. Sponsors of the esports tourney included Albany Convention Center Authority, WB Games New York, Stewart’s Shops, BRAVE Performance, U.S. Army, Claim to Fame, Game On New York, HyperX, Dave and Buster’s and Neustreet.

The competition opened with New York Congressman Paul Tonko and New York Assemblymember John McDonald counting down the clock and included panel discussions featuring topics such as “How to be Recruited to Play Esports in College,” “How to Start and Esports Teams” and “How to Make a Center in Game Development.”

 

Watch the entire HV Gamer Con Mainstage feed on YouTube: Day 1, Day 2. Event B-roll can be found here.

All ECAC competition was powered by LeagueSpot. Collegiate Sports Management Group and EsportsU partnered with ECAC as their property rights manager.

About HV Gamer Con 2022: 

HV Gamer Con is the largest esports event in the region, first started in 2019. This year’s event features massive public tournaments with thousands in cash and prizes up for grabs, the best collegiate esports teams competing in the ECAC Invitational Tournament and panel discussions on how to further your career in esports and gaming. The weekend’s events include a partnership between the Albany Capital Center (ACC), Center for Economic Growth (CEG) and Eastern College Athletic Conference (ECAC).