What started out as an experiential learning opportunity for three MBA sports and recreation management students, turned into an internship of a lifetime.
While attending the DraftKings international conference in March, Thomas Bobyn, Grant Frey and Micah Hesman pitched their idea of an Overwatch eSports fantasy format to DraftKings executives, MIT professors, and analytics industry experts. The UNB team was the only Canadian team to advance as a top five finalist.
It all began in January, when the UNB team submitted their idea of an Overwatch eSports fantasy format to DraftKings, a daily fantasy sports contest provider. In their submission, the team demonstrated their unique format and points system, and highlighted the advantages of their game in comparison to other growing eSports formats. In February, they received a phone call from DraftKings notifying them that they were chosen as a finalist in the pitch competition.
During the finals in March, the team had five minutes to pitch their idea followed by a five-minute question and answer period from the judges.
Bobyn, Frey and Hesman won a team cash prize of $2,000, were given an opportunity for summer internships with DraftKings, and invited to lunch with Jason Robins, CEO of DraftKings. Over the coming months, the team will learn how DraftKings will implement their idea and decide if they will accept the summer internships with DraftKings.
“The experience allowed us to create a new sporting concept with business relevance for a real company and get feedback from industry professionals,” says Bobyn. “Our interests go far beyond the topic of eSports, but the opportunity to attend one of the largest sports conferences in the world is something the MBA SRM class of 2020 will take forward with us in our studies.”
The UNB team was the only Canadian team to advance to the top five, and selected to present and pitch their idea at the conference. The other four finalists were from Boston University, Rutgers, and two teams from New York University.
