Efuse announces “Rivalry Series” return with Progressive Insurance® as Title Sponsor

Following a one-year hiatus after the inaugural Rivalry Series matchup between Ohio State and Michigan in Fortnite, efuse has announced the return of Rivalry Series with 3 intense college rivalries.

Progressive Insurance® has joined the series as title sponsor and will help present the matchups between Louisiana State University (LSU) and the University of Alabama (Alabama); the University of Texas at Austin (Texas) and Texas A&M; and a rematch between The Ohio State University and the University of Michigan.

Rivalry Series is a series by efuse that highlights the intense rivalries between colleges in sports and brings them to esports by putting current student-athletes, alumni, and fans in head-to-head matchups. 

"College rivalries are pure, unfiltered passion, and this series captures every ounce of that energy," said Daniel Intrater, VP of Partnerships at efuse. For the first time, Rivalry Series has a title sponsor, Progressive Insurance®.

"With Progressive by our side, we're excited to bring the Rivalry Series to a new level, making these iconic matchups a true gaming spectacle,” said Intrater.

“This year, we're not just recreating the thrill of game day; we’re enhancing it, combining athletes, alumni, and influencers to create something truly unforgettable. Fans of our viral 2022 series will be blown away — this is the ultimate expression of sports and gaming."

With 12 representatives from each school, Rivalry Series is packed with fan favorite influencers, current college football stars, and former college heroes turned NFL standouts. The first matchup, LSU vs. Alabama, will feature several current college stars, top NFL players, and well-known influencers including:

The full list of participants for each rivalry will be revealed in future esports.gg articles and on erena’s X (formerly Twitter) page.

All three matchups will feature a new game: EA’s College Football ‘25. Each school will have 12 representatives: four influencers, four student-athletes, and four alumni. Schools will compete for a total of nine available points and the school with the most points will be crowned the Rivalry Series Champion!

First, influencers will compete in group play amongst the other influencers representing their school to determine the best creator for each school. The top-performing influencers from each school in a matchup will then play a match against each other with the winner earning one point for their school.

Each student athlete will be matched up against a student athlete from the rival school and each alumni will be matched with a rival alumni for a total of 8 athlete matches. The winner of each match will earn one point for their school for a total of eight available points in athlete matches.

Rivalry Series event dates:

Event day schedule:

Progressive Rivalry Series will go live on the erena Twitch channel at 4 p.m. ET on each event day. Influencers will stream their group play matches to their personal streams starting at 1:45 p.m. ET on each event day.

Rivalry Series launched in 2022 and featured a matchup between Ohio State and Michigan. The event took place on a custom Fortnite map and featured famed alumni such as Braxton Miller as well as college stars who are now in the NFL including CJ Stroud and Roman Wilson. Michigan, led by Fortnite streamer, Scoped, claimed the title of Rivalry Series champion before winning the football game the following weekend. 

Ohio State will be eager for revenge in this year’s rematch while LSU, Alabama, Texas, and Texas A&M will all be hoping to replicate Michigan’s success on the field and in game for their Rivalry Series debuts.

Alongside watching the action live on the erena Twitch channel, make sure to follow erena’s X (formerly Twitter) page for updates on participants and news and watch esports.gg for match previews, recaps, and event news!