Technology brand TCL announces their debut into the Australasian esports scene by sponsoring LetsPlay.Live’s first split of High School League 2020.

Joining telecommunications giant Vodafone New Zealand, TCL has come on board as a sponsorship partner of the 10-week ANZ esports tournament. School teams that place first in the Dota 2 and Clash Royale divisions of the league will score themselves a TCL PLEX Android phone (worth $499 AUD RRP each) for each starting roster team member – totalling 8 phones up for grabs for Australasian high school students.

“When my client said that they were passionate about getting involved with eSports and the future stars in the events I knew that the HSL would be a perfect match for them” says Brett Levy, Managing Director of Beyond Intent here on the new partnership. “I looked around at a few different opportunities and must say that the team at LPL along with the value they have offered to my client and the TCL handsets brand is a very exciting one!” Mobile gaming titles have become popular within the esports landscape over the past 5 years. Clash Royale, along with other titles Arena of Valor and Hearthstone, were featured at the 2018 Asian games as demonstration sports.

“With Clash Royale as a popular mobile esport title in HSL it makes perfect sense for us to partner with TCL” says Duane Mutu, Managing Director of LetsPlay.Live. “The TCL PLEX phones are a fantastic addition to our prize pool and the amplification and support of mobile esports will help drive pathways from grassroots and beyond.”

Registration for High School League Split 1 is currently open for high school students enrolled in Australia or New Zealand, closing Sunday 23rd February 2020. Students and teachers can find more information on the league and registration at the official website.

Viewers can tune in to the HSL Clash Royale tournament weekly from Monday March 2nd 2020 at 6PM NZDT at their official Twitch channel.

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Vodafone New Zealand, who late last year signed a two-year partnership with Australasia’s leading esports tournament organisation LetsPlay.Live (LPL), has now signed up to sponsor LPL’s High School League for 2020.

The league sees secondary school students across Australasia competing in two esports titles: Dota 2 – played online through a PC, and mobile app-based Clash Royale.

In its fourth consecutive year, the High School League (HSL) is a free, trans-Tasman inter-school competition, providing Australian and New Zealand high school students with a fun and competitive esports experience. The HSL operates similarly to traditional high school sports, promoting teamwork and sportsmanship as well as academic achievement within the medium of video games.

“The High School League provides a structured and disciplined esports league for high school students, developing their leadership skills and critical thinking,” says Duane Mutu, Director of LPL.

“We encourage academic success by stating that students must be achieving in the classroom to participate in the HSL and we do not tolerate bad sportsmanship or online behaviour within the league.”

Vodafone New Zealand’s Consumer Director Carolyn Luey says she is delighted the digital services company will be the headline sponsor for the HSL in 2020.

“With an astronomical rise in popularity of online and mobile gaming in recent years, the HSL plays an important role in promoting positive behaviour online for our young people.

We are especially excited that the league will feature the popular mobile game Clash Royale. As we continue to roll out our 5G network throughout New Zealand, the increased network speeds and low latency will only make mobile gaming even more widespread.

Establishing healthy outlets for high school students interested in gaming is essential which is why we are proud to be supporting the High School League,” she says.

The first of the 2020 High School League tournaments (Split 1) is now open for registrations until 23rd February 2020. The Clash Royale three-versus-three battles are broadcast on gaming streaming platform Twitch every Monday from 2nd March 2020 on HSL’s official Twitch. The HSL Split 1 prize pool amounts to $3,750 NZD worth of prizes thanks to Vodafone New Zealand.

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