SUNY Canton esports to hold online invitational to raise funds for Doctors Without Borders

CANTON — A SUNY Canton Esports Management class will hold an online invitational live stream tournament to benefit Doctors Without Borders.

The "Gaming Without Borders" final tournament will be streamed at 1 p.m. Saturday, Dec. 3, in SUNY Canton's Kingston Theater. It will also be broadcast online through Twitch. The event is free and open to the public. The class will be accepting donations to benefit the charity.

"I'm truly proud of the students in this class who have chosen to showcase the college's esports program while raising money for their favorite charity," said Charles W. Murray, SUNY Canton esports coordinator.

The event will be the conclusion of preliminary matches in games including Valorant, Rocket League and Super Smash Bros Ultimate players from around New York and the SUNY Esports League.

Students from the Esports Event Management class were challenged with creating a public event, according to Nicholas C. Kocher, college lecturer for the School of Business and Liberal Arts.

"It started as a conceptual assignment for students to learn how to orchestrate and host an esports event," Kocher said. "We wanted to create an environment for them to apply what they've learned to prepare them for their future careers."

Kocher added that the students decided to include a charity fundraising component and chose Doctors Without Borders based on their familiarity with the organization.

Ashton M. Samara of Auburn, an Esports Management major who helped coordinate the event, said, "I see this as not only an incredible opportunity to help a good cause but also to involve the broader SUNY Canton community. Allowing students to involve themselves in esports outside the varsity program and major is invaluable to us."

Doctors Without Borders is a nonprofit organization that works on non-government humanitarian medical treatment in areas with endemic diseases, natural disasters, and ongoing conflict. They are committed to providing care to people with inclusive and impartial principles to ensure everyone gets the treatment they need while being completely transparent about funds and their work from donors. Doctors Without Borders offers recruitment opportunities, as well as volunteers who are looking to help anyone and everyone.