Red Bull has this week launched a state-of-the-art gaming hub at SETU Waterford to support the development of third-level gamers in Ireland. The Red Bull Gaming Hub will help SETU students of all abilities to develop their skill sets while also connecting them with leading partners in the global gaming industry.
The hub, the first of its kind at a third-level institute in Ireland, is located in SETU Waterford, the first third-level institute in Ireland to launch an esports scholarship. Synonymous with esports and gaming throughout the world, Red Bull has long since been a pioneer in the industry, supporting esport athletes and student gaming tournaments across the world.
This latest initiative represents Red Bull’s most significant esports venture in Ireland as the brand expands its footprint on the Irish gaming scene. The Hub will also host national gaming tournaments, interactive workshops and live stream events, while Irish gamers will also have the opportunity to qualify for global esports tournaments via events hosted in the Red Bull Gaming Hub.
This November for example, the Irish National Finals of the global VALORANT tournament, Red Bull Campus Clutch, will take place in the Hub. A team-based tournament open only to those in third-level education, Red Bull Campus Clutch sees over 200 national and regional tournaments take place across the globe this autumn. The best of the best advance to the World Finals, this year hosted in Istanbul, with a cash prize of €20,000 on offer.
Commenting as the hub was officially unveiled today, Katie Redmond SETU Sports Manager, Waterford Campus, said: “In 2020, SETU became the first third-level institute in Ireland to launch an esports scholarship and since then, the Esports Club has swiftly risen to prominence as one of the most active clubs at SETU. We are now delighted to further set the standard in the Irish third-level sector by opening our new Esports Gaming Hub. Our goal with this is to create a sports community where all students, current and future, who participate in Esports can receive the same support and facilities as all our sports teams. We would like to recognise that without the guidance and support of everyone at SETU, Esports Ireland, Collegiate Esports, and Red Bull, this vision would not have been possible.”
The hub is kitted out with a casual gaming area equipped with Xbox consoles, an immersive sound system and comfortable gaming bean bags. The facility also includes a chill-out area where students can bring their own laptops, connect to the high-speed network and work on their own creative projects with a cold can of Red Bull in hand. A unique custom-made 10-sided gaming table sits at the centre of the hub and allows for 5v5 gaming sessions on top-of-the-range gaming PCs.
Four outstanding partners have come on board, helping to bring the latest and greatest hardware to gamers. Intel NUC, SteelSeries, AGON by AOC and Backforce have worked with Red Bull to bring this unique gaming facility to life.
As PC Partner, Intel NUC, renowned for packing high-powered gaming rigs in small form factors, will support with their top-notch GamingPCs. SteelSeries, the worldwide leader in gaming and esports peripherals, is the official Peripheral brand of the Red Bull Gaming Hub and will equip students with award-winning gaming headsets, keyboards, and mice.
Backforce, the Gaming Chair partner, have provided ergonomic chairs that can boost performance and help maintain high-level gaming over long, competitive sessions, while the official Monitor Partner, AGON by AOC, provide high-performance gaming monitors within the space.
For more information about the Red Bull and Gaming, and the new Hub at SETU Waterford, visit www.RedBull.com/ie-en/gaming. To find out more about Red Bull Campus Clutch, and how to register, please visit Red Bull Ireland on Instagram & Tiktok @RedBullIre