Ireland’s first esports academy opens in Cork

The WYLDE Academy, Ireland’s first esports academy was opened this week.

Esports is becoming a huge global industry with millions of gamers around the world competing against each other and massive professional tournaments regularly taking place.

Following the industry boom, Ireland is now home to a brand new esports academy. Based in the Republic of Work on Cork’s South Mall, WYLDE competes in major esports titles and tournaments around the world. The WYLDE Academy, co-owned by Usain Bolt, is a high performance centre for national and international professionals to train.

On their website, WYLDE say the academy was built “with the fundamental goal to support talent, provide tangible goals and drive competitive spirit, in a diverse and inclusive way.”

Co-founder of the academy, David Cronin said that it is “another step in our journey towards ensuring that Ireland is at the forefront of professional esports internationally.” He added that Ireland now has an “opportunity to create significant employment in the area of gaming and esports for future generations.”

On the international stage, as one of the top teams in Europe, the WYLDE Rainbow Six Siege team now competes in Ubisoft’s top tier European League following a rapid rise to the top.

Last year, WYLDE won the EU Gamers Without Borders Championship securing a $250,000 donation to UNICEF, and went on to the global semi-final of the $2 million Gamers 8 tournament in Saudi Arabia. They then went on to win Ubisoft GSA Grand Final Trophy in Germany.

The company fields international teams in FIFA, Valorant and Rocket League. They also recently unveiled Puma as their official kit sponsor globally in what was described as a ‘significant’ multi-year sponsorship deal.

Any gamers interested in taking up a position in the new academy can have a look at the WYLDE website here.

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