Howard University’s CoD eSports team wins $80K in tournament

The school has been increasingly active in eSports, and it’s paying off

Universities are no longer questioning their fit in the eSports ecosystem. Many of these educational institutions are committed to building the eSports industry and educating the next generation of workers who will lead it to a new ecstasy. The growth of collegiate eSports has been going on for years, and the most talented have been able to take home great prizes. The latest clear example to come to Americas Cardroom is Howard University.

Cold Steel, Howard University’s Call of Duty (CoD) team, pulled off a big win recently, enough to give the legendary HBCU another reason to be proud of the school. The organization managed to take home a huge chunk of the $500,000 total prize money at this year’s Mountain Dew Real Change eSports tournament in Atlanta. After showing great skills during this event, the team pocketed $80,000.

“The MTN DEW Real Change Challenge is an extension of MTN DEW’s commitment to investing and uplifting Black entrepreneurs through the MTN DEW Real Change Opportunity Fund, which launched in 2021,” said a tournament representative. “The MTN DEW Real Change Challenge supported Black gamers at HBCUs by sponsoring a nationwide HBCU esports tournament, in partnership with CXMMUNITY.”

A win like this is a clear indicator of the potential the future could hold, as members are excited about how far they have come so far. Deante Taylor, senior marketing manager, says the team has been constantly working to improve and is much better than it was at the beginning of this year.