Esports coming to Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools

CHARLOTTE, N.C. (WBTV) - For the first time, varsity teams within Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools will compete in esports.

If you haven’t heard of it, it’s gaining a lot of traction.

Wednesday kicks off the first varsity-level high school esports and STEM league in the district’s history.

Teams from different schools in the district will compete in video game tournaments.

There are 12 high schools participating. The first season will feature five regular-season matchups, followed by playoffs and a championship.

The competition will involve head-to-head matchups in Rocket League, an online game with rules similar to soccer, in which players use different models of virtual cars to steer the ball.

“The goal is inclusivity. We all know there are plenty of students who don’t make it to the varsity team in a physical sport. The reality is, there are many students who are actually really talented at video games and so we want to make sure that those students get an opportunity to participate in all the benefits that being in a club or any sort of competitive activity are,” said Charlie Mulligan, director of operations for Stiegler EdTech

More than 500 CMS students tried out for the inaugural league. Of those, about 100 were selected.

The games will be streamed live on Twitch, have professional commentators, and a pregame show.

The channel on twitch is called Y-tac-nation. It all starts at 5:30 Nov. 2.

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