ALBANY - Players, fans and broadcasters will descend upon the Capital Center this weekend for the largest collegiate sporting events of its kind in the Northeast.

But instead of wearing basketball jerseys and high-tops, players will be equipped with headsets and controllers.

Hudson Valley Gamer Con, touted as the largest collegiate "esports" event in the Northeast, will take place at to the Albany Capital Center on Saturday and Sunday, where more than 400 gamers will compete in the tournament.

"This event will put the Capital Region on the map nationally for egaming events," said Doug McClaine, the general manager of the Albany Capital Center. "We are very excited to host such a diverse group of collegiate gamers and we welcome them to Albany."

This isn't the debut of esports at the Capital Center. Last year it hosted the 2018 Eastern College Athletic Conference (ECAC) invitational, which featured just four colleges competing. This year, 18 colleges are sending teams. It will be the largest esports tournament ever held in upstate New York.

Teams, which are comprised of two to five players depending on the competition, will grace three stages where they will be seated at monitors to play.

The competition will feature three different games — Fortnite, League of Legends and Overwatch.

Teams from Maine to Maryland are competing, but there also will be some local competitors with esports teams from Siena College, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute and University at Albany.

"Exactly 24 hours remain until our League of Legends team heads over to HV GamerCon 2019 to compete for the title," the RPI League of Legends team tweeted out Friday afternoon. "Who else is excited?" The team's first game is scheduled for 2 p.m. on Saturday.

Fans can follow the action on monitors at the Capital Center or watch it live online.

To see what time your favorite team is playing check the brackets at www.albanycapitalcenter.com

Varsity collegiate esports began in 2014 when Robert Morris University in Illinois announced a scholarship-sponsored League of Legends team.

Since then, it has expanded tremendously. Now 96 colleges and universities are members of the National Association of Collegiate Esports (NACE) and offer officially recognized varsity programs.

Forty seven schools compete at the club level in the American Collegiate Esports League (ACEL), while 699 schools have active college esports teams on the Collegiate Star League (CSL) platform and compete in League of Legends competition, according to the NACE.

Like other college sports there are hired coaches, students can be recruited and even get a scholarship to play.

But this weekend's tournament is not just for the college players.

"We expect a wide range of audience demographic," McClaine said. "I'm sure young kids who play Fortnite will be there, high school and college students and probably moms and dads cheering for their kids."

Besides the competition, there will also be an expo with more than 50 vendors showcasing regional game development studios, including the Empire State Development's Digital Game Hubs at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute and New York University.

Colleges will have booths set up to promote their programs.

There will be local artists, independent developers and other esports lifestyle brands. Portions of the expo will feature hands-on gameplay and retail vendors.

Tickets to the event range from $14 to $39. To purchase a ticket to the event and for more information visit www.albanycapitalcenter.com