Harrisburg University is once again running their HUE Invitational, featuring dozens of top programs competing in three of the biggest esports titles. The event is running this upcoming weekend, September 20th to Sunday, September 22nd.
This year’s competition looks to be the biggest iteration to date. The HUE Invitational will be sponsored by Intel, giving competitors access to the powerful Intel® NUC “Beast Canyon” 11th Gen PCs.
With this being the first big event of the new school year, it’s a great opportunity for teams to start their seasons off on the right foot. Here are some of the biggest stories going into Rocket League, VALORANT, and League of Legends.
Rocket League
Once again, Rocket League will feature the most teams at this year’s HUE Invitational. The twelve teams will compete in a round robin format, giving everyone the chance to face off against everyone else. The top four teams from the group stage will advance to a single-elimination playoff bracket.
Last year’s champions, St. Edwards University, are back to reclaim their trophy. They won the 2023 HUE Invitational last year, beating fellow returning school, University of Mississippi, in the finals. After a relatively underwhelming placing during CCA Summer Series 2024, they’ll be looking to start this new year off with a bang.
Speaking of the Summer Series, Maryville University are coming off of a second place finish this past summer. They placed third at last year’s HUE Invitational and are now looking to get the big national win under their belt.
West Virginia University dominated the round robin stage of last year’s HUE Invitational. They went undefeated before ultimately losing to St. Edwards University, 3-2, in a close semifinal match. After picking up a win last spring at Boost On The Beach 2024, they’ll be looking to add another trophy to their cabinet.
VALORANT
Last year was the first time the HUE Invitational featured VALORANT. Now, eight teams are sizing each other up to see who will take home the second VALORANT championship at the HUE Invitational.
The University of St. Thomas VALORANT team had an incredible past year. They won the inaugural HUE Invitational championship for VALORANT, and then placed second at the CVAL 2024 Championship. They’ll be looking to keep that dominance going into a new year.
One of two teams competing in every event, VALORANT might be St. Clair College’s best shot at bringing home the gold. They won a string of tournaments last year, including the Collegiate Esports Commissioners Cup Finals 2024. With the quality of their program, it’s not out of the question for them to sweep all three events this year.
Blinn College hasn’t just been lighting up collegiate esports, they’ve also been scrapping it out with the best Tier 2 squads in the region. They came up just short during the VALORANT Challengers 2024: North America Challenger Playoffs. They’ll be looking to bring back what they’ve learned back to the collegiate level.
League of Legends
The only title still remaining from the original HUE Invitational, League of Legends is back for the fourth year in a row. Eight of the best collegiate League teams in North America will be looking to claim the first big prize of the year.
As in our spotlights of the other titles, it’s difficult not to look at the defending champions as favorites to win it all again. Winthrop University got through St. Louis University in last year’s finals to win the HUE Invitational 2023. Coming off their recent season in NACL, they’ll be looking to go back-to-back.
The University of Mississippi has quietly built up an incredibly strong League of Legends team over the past few years. After nearly making the 2024 NACL Summer Split and picking up a win against Winthrop last season, Ole Miss easily has what it takes to bring a championship down to The Magnolia State.
They may not have quite the resume as some of the other teams competing, but don’t count out Converse University this weekend. Last year they took down the College League of Legends 2024 – Peach Belt Conference and compete in the NACE Varsity Superconference. Don’t sleep on this Converse team that’s proven they can contend with the very best.
Want to tune in to all the action yourself? Catch all the competition from September 20th to September 22nd on https://twitch.tv/harrisburguniversity and https://twitch.tv/harrisburguniversity2.
CEN is the official media partner of the HUE Invitational this year, so keep an eye on all our social platforms and our website to keep up with all the action.
