Second annual Boost at the Beach esports competition brings win for Myrtle Beach tourism

MYRTLE BEACH, S.C. (WBTW) — Here’s one event the rain didn’t stop today, the second annual Boost at the Beach esports competition. In fact it was perfect weather for this kind of tournament.

Happening inside The Hangout restaurant at Broadway at the Beach, a dozen university teams participated in the Rocket League.

 It’s a three-day long event, hosted by various colleges to include Coastal Carolina University in partnership with the Myrtle Beach Area Chamber of Commerce and Visit Myrtle Beach.

The tournament is fully managed by students from CCU, Shenandoah University and Syracuse University.
“This is a unique venue, so having an esports event and going and competing is fun just in itself but then you add these wild shows that are going on and people are getting up and dancing it kind of cuts the tension of the competition and everybody is having fun then you are right back into the game,” said Shenandoah University Esports Director Alyssa Duran.

Gabe Marshall is a senior at Shenandoah University and participated in this year’s competition.

“Esports in my opinion is just kind of building up a new industry and also a new community as well,” he said. “This is just allowing everyone to come together with things they really like to do.”

This year’s event doubled in team size from six schools to twelve. The tournament streams live online, which Executive Director of Sports Tourism with Visit Myrtle Beach Jonathan Paris said this truly puts the beach on the map as a sports tourism destination.

“It’s different than a lot of our traditional sports that come with hundreds of teams,” he said. “You know this one is going to be broadcast live on twitch and youtube and kind of has a different exposure for the market.”

The event continues tomorrow with local high school students invited to play ‘super smash bros’

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Adriana Cotero is News13’s weekend evening anchor and a morning reporter. She joined the team in July 2023 after working in the island of Guam. Adriana is from Saline, Michigan, and graduated from Central Michigan University. Follow Adriana on Facebook, X, formerly Twitter, and Instagram and read more of her work here. 

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