Red Bull Gaming Hub at The Creative School hosts first-ever Valorant competitive esports event
Fourth-year RTA Media Production student Benson Lam made headlines as president of TMU Bold Esports, which held their first-ever competitive esports event for Valorant during the winter semester, a competitive esports tournament for the tactical game “Valorant.” The event took place at the recently unveiled Red Bull Gaming Hub (opens in new window) at The Creative School. The Gaming Hub hosted 16 teams with over 150 attendees across the weekend.
Photo of the Red Bell Gaming Hub, with players preparing for the next round of the tournament
“We sold out capacity,” Lam said. “We never expected it, especially since this was the first tournament in the space.”
Not only did the community attend the event in person, but virtually as well. With an average of 80+ viewers on Twitch and over 100k impressions on Twitter, the tournament was a smashing success.
Pictured is The LVL UP team: Eric Struk (external link) Tara F. (external link) Daniel Barbuto (external link) Lina Elsaadi (external link) Logan Giles (external link) Aleksander Meiusi (external link) Taylor M. (external link) Alexis Merekoulias (external link) Owen DeKort (external link) Zeineddin Alqudah (external link) Dan Bener, Colin Doyle, Anthony Foggia & Minkyo Kim
RTA Media Production prepares students for professionalism
The event was Lam’s final-year practicum project, combining various skills learned in the Media Production program, along with his two years of experience as President of TMU Bold Esports.
“This project was a way to connect my passion for esports with the skills developed in RTA. In the program, I learned about event production and professionalism in the industry, which helped when reaching out to sponsors and pitching the event,” he explained.
The RTA School of Media’s Media Production program, named one of the top 15 media schools internationally by the Hollywood Reporter, offers a variety of concentrations across the world of media. Students combine innovative hands-on experience with critical media theory to become leaders in the future of media.
Students take advantage of the tech provided in the gaming hub, focused in on the competition
Introducing an elite gaming experience
The Red Bull Gaming Hub features 36 machines arranged into pods of six for competition and broadcast in each pod. A 5:1 surround sound system for events and instruction, eight large wall displays, and an instructor station with a custom AV control allow endless event possibilities in the incredibly robust space.
“The Red Bull Gaming Hub is a future-forward and powerful centre designed to take the lead in game design, esports, and virtual studio production,” said Geoffrey Lachapelle, manager of the Red Bull Gaming Hub.
Lachapelle explained that the The PC's, provided by AMD, are fuelled by some of the best hardware available, creating an ideal learning environment for students.
“Current educational offerings include a mixture of game design, unreal engine virtual environment development, and esports broadcasting, with more on the way,” he added. “Our university's competitive varsity teams for esports also compete out of the space, where they are some of the best competitors in their respective games both in Canada, and across North America.”
Future of esports is innovative and interactive
The esports industry is growing, and more groups are emerging from post-secondary institutions. The success of the Valorant event has brought awareness to the world of esports within the university.
Lam hopes TMU Bold Esports will foster future tournaments at The Red Bull Gaming Hub and spread the word about gaming competitions.
“After being virtual for so long, I wanted to utilize the in-person resources to attract attendees,” he explained. “This event proved that the future of gaming at TMU will continue to grow, and we should host more esports events.”
Lachapelle commended Lam, the TMU Bold esports team and everyone involved for the event’s success.
“As both teachers and fellow gaming community members, the level of quality and professionalism our students bring is a source of constant amazement,” said Lachapelle. “This event was run to an incredibly high professional degree, and we are extremely proud of Benson and the rest of the team involved for what they did with this event.”
As for the future of esports at TMU, both Lam and Lachapelle agree; this is just the beginning.
“It's a joy to turn the Red Bull Gaming Hub over to the players, not just within our school, but to the community abroad, and show what the school can bring to the worlds of esports and gaming,” Lachapelle remarked.
“After I graduate, I hope to see more awareness of the esports community come out of the gaming hub,” added Lam. “It was a goal of mine to show the value of having access to these spaces and technology on campus.”
The Creative School at Toronto Metropolitan University
The Creative School is a dynamic faculty that is making a difference in new, unexplored ways. Made up of Canada’s top professional schools and transdisciplinary hubs in media, communication, design and cultural industries, The Creative School offers students an unparalleled global experience in the heart of downtown Toronto.