On October 1, Collegiate Fighting Game Conference (CFGC) announced Tong Lee, Founder of Tampa Never Sleeps and Head of Tournament Ops for Evo, as their newest co-owner.
The news of Lee joining CFGC (and by extension, Tampa Never Sleeps) comes over a year after CFGC and TNS announced a partnership in August 2024. The original partnership allowed for Collegiate Street Fighter 6 and Tekken 8 finals to be played at TNS in November, highlighting exemplary college esports athletes.
Now, the TNS and CFGC partnership continues to grow, with Lee stepping in as a co-owner and bringing the TNS community even closer to the collegiate space.
In an interview with College Esports News, Lee said this move was motivated by a love for the collegiate space and a desire to outreach to students and grow the fighting game community.
The fighting game community has never been limited by age or scholastic boundary, and this partnership, Lee explained, is in place to connect the next generations of fighting game professionals as well as grow the collegiate fighting game space.
Fighting games have long since been a grassroots movement, but have exploded in the collegiate space in recent years. From the introduction of Riot Game’s 2XKO to the revolutionary releases of Street Fighter 6, Tekken 8, and the powerful platform fighter that is Super Smash Bros Ultimate, the collegiate fighting game community has rapidly expanded and seen great success in previous years.
TNS’ involvement with CFGC is not to change this mission of providing a space for collegiate esports athletes to grow, but seeks to expand it even more and help it flourish and attract new gamers.
As the semester winds down, CFGC’s fall semester champions are taking the stage, including live-streamed match-ups on the TNS Twitch and YouTube channel, only aiding this explosive growth even more.
The partnership between Tampa Never Sleeps and CFGC is only growing, and its future is nothing but bright and boundless. We’re excited to advance to the next stage with them in the Spring!
