First-of-its-kind scholarship for eSports players coming soon in US

Head’s up eSports players: your competitive video gaming experience could end up paying for your college education.

But that’s if you’re planning to attend the University of California, Irvine, which announced last week that they will offering “as many as 10 academic scholarships” to talented League of Legends players starting this fall semester.

The scholarships are half-tuition, which are worth about $5,500, and will be awarded to students on the university’s collegiate League of Legends team, said UCI student programming assistant director Mark Deppe, according to The Bakesfield Californian.

In addition, the university also plans to open a 3,500 square foot gaming arena inside the campus’ Student Center. The arena, which can be accessed by all university students, will be equipped with gaming PCs, a League of Legends competition stage and a studio for live webcasting tournaments.