- Amazon ESPORTS University has expanded with two new markets, adding France and Germany ahead of its Spring season finals on March 29
- The company is planning to soon add Poland and the Nordics, as the largest European esports collegiate league continues to grow
Amazon has roped in Germany and France into its namesake Amazon UNIVERSITY Esports pan-European collegiate league with Poland and the Nordics soon to follow.
AUE Continues to Grow European Footprint
Collegiate esports is shaping up nicely with Amazon watching over them. The European collegiate esports series created by Amazon, The NUEL, and GGTech Entertainment and known as Amazon UNIVERSITY Esports (AUE) is expanding into Europe with France and Germany's additions to the pool of countries that can field college students into the esports competition.
The AUE now welcomes students from Italy, Spain, and the United Kingdom and those from France and Germany in its Spring season. The website also supports Polish, and numerous Nordic markets are expected to come next, along with an entry into Poland, where Erbud has become the official AUE partner.
In the United Kingdom alone, 3,000 students from across 91 universities are taking place in the competition, which has been underway since February 2021. The series host some popular competitive titles, including League of Legends, Valorant, Counter-Strike: Global Offensive, and Rainbow Six: Siege.
Tune in for the Finals This Weekend
This session's finals will take place from March 29 through April 1 and be broadcast on Twitch. The event managed to fetch the impressive 1 million people in live viewership for the Winter season. Even bigger crowds are expected with the addition of Poland and the Nordics, which are core esports markets.
Collegiate esports continue to play an increasingly important role in higher education, with competitive video gaming taking a central role in learning. The popularity of esports in countries such as Poland, Germany, and Sweden is well-documented.
Earlier this month, eSports1 expanded its esports TV coverage to Sweden and Norway. Poland has been a traditional bastion for electronic sports, and the country is drawing bigger stakeholders, not least AUE. Earlier this month, the first Esports in Conference took place, talking about the future and involvement of esports in higher learning.