On July 12, the University of Texas at Dallas is set to host the Dignitas x Epic Games Fortnite Pro-Am Creator Series. Professional players, content creators, and fans will come together for some fun Fortnite action at the Comets LANding Gaming & Esports Center at UTD.
The event marks the return of the popular Fortnite Pro-Am tournament series run by Fortnite developer Epic Games. The Pro-Am will feature prominent Fortnite content creators like Clix, Kannada, Ron, Lacy, and more – and will pair one creator with one pro player to compete in a Fortnite Reload Tournament.
In addition to being hosted at the $18 million Comets LANding facility, UT Dallas students will work alongside industry professionals on the event’s broadcast and tournament administration.
Two students and one recent graduate from UT Dallas will work on the broadcast team: Aaron Khauv will be the primary replay operator, Giovanni Bennett will be a camera and audio operator, and recent graduate Brooke Hudy will be the mobile camera operator.
Additionally, Alex Stenman, Facility & Production Coordinator at UT Dallas, will serve as the Technical Director.
“Alex’s leadership in the broadcast studio will be instrumental in assuring our students feel comfortable and supported working on such a large scale production,” Joshua Buchanan, Gaming & Esports Program Manager at UT Dallas, shared.
Four students will also work alongside Raidiant, a women-led esports production and gaming event agency, as tournament admins and talent managers for the event: Alex Kunz, Angelina Yu, Joshua Galvez and Arya Gowdar.
But this isn’t UT Dallas’ first rodeo hosting professional esports events.
With Dignitas’ Fortnite team based close to campus, the professional esports team and UT Dallas Esports worked together last summer to host the AussieAntics Mike & Ike Flavor Brawl, with 32 top North American Fortnite pro players competing at the Comets LANding facility.
Additionally, UTD and Dignitas worked on two other collaborations, videos called “Beat a Fortnite Pro, Win $1,000” and “Fortnite Pros vs. Esports Players Debate” which has over 200,000 views on YouTube.
“When Dignitas approached us to host the Dignitas x Epic Games Fortnite Pro-Am Creator Series, it was clear from Day 1 that our students would play an important role in the production and event management,” Buchanan stated. “Dignitas put a ton of intentionality into creating opportunities for our students to get hands-on experience.”
The scholastic esports space has seen more and more collaborations between colleges and professional esports organizations and event organizers in recent years, providing more opportunities for students to gain experience and see behind the curtain of these kinds of events.
In a few weeks, St. Clair College is hosting the R6 NA Open at The Summoning Convention, which is hosted at their campus.
Fisher College students helped with the Boston Breach Call of Duty Major 2023 and their broadcast team put on the Boston Breach Service Academy Skirmish later that same year.
Additionally, college esports facilities will often host traveling professional teams ahead of majors. Collaborations like this can strengthen college esports as a whole, but especially on a local scale.
“We are super thankful to Epic Games, Dignitas and Raidiant for creating opportunities for our students to get hands-on experience working one of the largest Fortnite events of the year,” Buchanan shared. “One of our biggest goals is to develop opportunities for students to get experience working with and learning from industry professionals.”
On what it means to be involved with this cross-collaboration between collegiate and professional esports orgs, Buchanan stated:
“I’m hopeful that events like the Dignitas x Epic Games Fortnite Pro-Am Creator Series (hosted at UT Dallas) and the R6 NA Open (hosted at St. Clair College) are a sign of what’s to come for professional and collegiate esports collaboration. These opportunities make so much sense in terms of marketing, sustainability, and talent development for all parties involved.”
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Fans can come watch the tournament for free on the SU Green turf space adjacent to Comets LANding and attend a meet-and-greet with players and creators after the event. For those watching from home, you can watch the action live on AussieAntics’ Twitch page.
