On Aug. 26 Mizzou Esports and KC Pioneers officially announced a partnership between the two programs, giving students the opportunity to gain experience in the eSports industry.
KC Pioneers, founded in 2019, is a professional eSports team based in Kansas City, fielding teams for Rocket League, Valorant, Madden and Halo.
Mizzou Esports has competitive teams for Overwatch, League of Legends, Rocket League and Valorant.
A key figure who helped form the partnership between the two teams is Pioneers strategic advisor Jeremy Terman.
“Jeremy Terman works with them and he is a Mizzou grad, so we set up an introductory meeting, months and months ago and just kind of spitballing some ideas of what could (be),” Mizzou Esports general manager Kevin Reape said.
Both Reape and Pioneers CEO Mark Josey believe the partnership will provide hands-on learning for MU students.
Students interested in interning for the Pioneers don’t necessarily have to be involved in esports to be involved with the team.
“It also provides hands-on learning opportunities for students who want to get involved and the eSports side,” Reape said. “Whether it’s business or broadcasting management, event management.”
MU’s business school is part of the partnership along with the eSports team, Josey said. Down the line, the Pioneers CEO hopes to partner with other MU programs.
“I think long term is more robust involvement with universities,” Josey said. “But as it relates to Mizzou, you know, outside of just the business school so there’s journalism, there is communication.”
Another reason Josey and Reape find the partnership beneficial is the potential it has to grow the eSports scene in the Midwest, which has fewer opportunities for eSports in comparison to the coastal regions.
“We’re building something right here in the Midwest,” Josey said. “And then secondly… what does it look and sound like to find talent to cultivate relationships with folks that have an interest at the collegiate level and the high school level has been something that’s been really important to us.”
On the collegiate side, Reape hopes linking with the Pioneers will help improve Mizzou Esports’ reputation and help MU be known as a “school for gamers”.
“So I think we would be willing to work with anybody that wanted to get into this space,” he said. “I think we’re gonna see more and more professional organizations develop amateur organizations and then… a massive increase in high school and collegiate (opportunities) as well.”
KC Underground Tournament
One of the ideas that has already come to fruition: professional opportunities in the esports industry for MU students. Two students, seniors Chris Johnston and Noah De Aces, have been interning for the KC Pioneers since June, learning new business skills along the way.
Johnston said he learned a lot about the business side of eSports from setting meetings with sponsors and working with the KC Pioneers’ creative team.
Before starting the internship, Johnston had no experience setting up eSports events. Interning for the Pioneers gave him an opportunity to do so by running the KC Underground Rocket League tournament, live streamed on the Pioneer Twitch channel.
The Pioneer Twitch channel (https://www.twitch.tv/pioneersgg) has over more than 4,000 followers. Last Friday, the KC Underground Rocket League tournament stream totaled 1,216 viewers.
Featuring 64 collegiate esports teams, including some European schools, the 3v3 double-elimination tournament was won by the Akron Zips. Akron took home $500 after sweeping UCF Pump It Up! 4-0 in a best-of-seven grand final.
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