PlayVS and Theta Labs Launch AI Agent for Collegiate Esports

The AI agent will serve more than 10,000 college players and PCL's fan community with instant access to league information, match schedules, and competition rules.

January 8, 2026 – Los Angeles – PlayVS and Theta Labs, the leading blockchain-powered decentralized cloud provider for AI and media, today announced the launch of an AI agent for the PlayVS College League (PCL), the largest collegiate esports league in North America with thousands of students competing each semester. 

Starting this upcoming Spring season, custom AI agent PCL Bot, trained and deployed on Theta EdgeCloud's distributed GPU infrastructure, will handle league operations queries and provide instant access to competition information for thousands of students in PCL's player and fan community across North America. The agent will be accessible through Discord and PCL's website throughout the collegiate school season. 

Streamlining League Operations at Scale

With the addition of the PCL Bot, the PCL team will be better equipped to handle queries and questions from the community at a much more seamless and efficient pace. The AI agent will be responsible for responding to questions about match schedules, opponent matchups, league rules, code of conduct procedures, and dispute resolution for college players competing in PCL. 

Rather than waiting for manual responses from league administrators through Discord direct messages, players can query the agent in natural language to get immediate answers. The system will be trained on PCL's league handbook and rulebook, allowing it to provide accurate information on competition formats, disqualification procedures, reporting processes, and other operational details that students need during fall and spring competition seasons.

In addition to competition-related support, the PCL Bot will assist users with information on how their colleges can apply to become a PCL member, provide details on eligibility requirements, identify member perks and benefits, and more. Brands can also inquire about how they can connect with the PCL community in meaningful ways as a sponsor or partner of PlayVS.

The AI agent uses Theta EdgeCloud's hybrid cloud-edge computing platform, which combines more than 30,000 distributed edge nodes with cloud infrastructure from Google Cloud and Amazon Web Services to deliver 80 PetaFLOPS of GPU compute power. This architecture allows the agent to process match data and generate analysis at costs ranging from one-fifth to one-third of traditional cloud platforms. Training and inference workloads for the agent run across Theta's distributed GPU network, where specific tasks are routed to either high-performance A100/H100 cloud GPUs or NVIDIA 3090/4090 desktop GPUs based on performance requirements and cost parameters.

Theta has established itself as the AI partner of choice for the world’s leading esports teams. Theta EdgeCloud powers AI agents and fan experiences for Cloud9, FlyQuest, Evil Geniuses, NRG, Gen.G, Dignitas, 100 Thieves, Method, and Team Heretics, supporting always-on engagement across channels like websites and Discord.

"Integrating this AI agent into the PlayVS College League represents a major step forward in how we support our players and the broader collegiate esports community,” said Senior Director of Collegiate Esports at PlayVS, Charles O’Donnell. “Students deserve timely and accurate information so they can focus on competing at the highest level. This technology gives them exactly that. It will streamline league operations, reduce friction, and create a more consistent competitive experience for every participant in the PCL."

“This conversational AI agent represents the kind of intelligent, responsive technology that actually serves collegiate esports,” said CEO of Theta Labs, Mitch Liu. “Students get the information they need instantly instead of waiting around in Discord DMs. We're seeing EdgeCloud become the go-to platform for gaming teams, players, and leagues that want to deploy this type of always-on fan experience, and PCL is a perfect example of how AI can make operations smoother for everyone involved."

About PlayVS

PlayVS is North America's leading esports and gaming platform, helping students unlock the many benefits of competitive gaming for students at every level. It offers a comprehensive community where players, coaches, educators, and parents come together to compete, connect, and grow. With the launch of the PlayVS College League (PCL) and the acquisitions of Generation Esports and Playfly College Esports, PlayVS now provides the most comprehensive pathway in scholastic esports, from middle school through college. PlayVS is the official esports partner of the NFHS Network, the Special Olympics, and 40+ state and regional organizations across the U.S. and Canada. To learn more, visit playvs.com.

About Theta Labs

Theta Labs is the leading provider of decentralized cloud infrastructure for AI, media and entertainment powered by a global network of 30,000 distributed edge nodes and a native blockchain. Backed by Samsung, Sony, Bertelsmann Digital Media Investments and Creative Artists Agency, Theta is among the top AI tokens on Binance.com and top 10 DePIN blockchains by market capitalization on Coingecko. Theta’s enterprise validator and governance council is composed of global market leaders including Google, Samsung, CAA and Binance.

Recently launched Theta EdgeCloud is the first hybrid cloud-edge computing AI platform with over 80 PetaFLOPS of on-demand distributed GPU compute power. EdgeCloud now counts over 40 global customers including Stanford University, 4 of the top 5 South Korea universities, top professional sports teams including NHL’s Las Vegas Knights, NBA’s Houston Rockets and global esports teams FlyQuest and Gen.G.

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