New SRU club is offering a twist on team sports
SLIPPERY ROCK — A new club at Slippery Rock University is offering team sports with a virtual twist, and filling the roster with gamers of all levels.
Khalil Harper, junior and president of SRU Esports, said the new club brings gamers together for fun, forms teams and forges them in the fire of competition with other schools. The club has found early success with its League of Legends team, which made the Collegiate Starleague playoffs in the Junior Varsity 2 division.
League of Legends is a multiplayer online battle arena game, commonly referred to as a MOBA, that pits two teams of five players against one another.
The game is a team-oriented strategy game. After choosing one of the 134 characters, called Champions, players must work together in particular roles and positions to eliminate their enemy's turrets and inhibitors en route to destroying their enemy's Nexus. The team that destroys their opponent's Nexus first wins the game.
Wayne Bloom, a freshman and captain of the SRU team, said the prizes for the team's current division are merely in-game prizes, but they hope to be in the Junior Varsity 1 division next year.
“In JV1, the prizes are pretty hefty,” Bloom said. “I think scholarships are in the mix, and I think a nice little budget chunk for your club too.”
A 1-3 start to the regular season prompted some tweaks to the team's game plan, according to Bloom. He said the team has not lost since, winning three straight games and finding themselves with a winning record and a playoff berth in their inaugural season.
The team won two straight 2-0 sweeps in the playoffs to put them in the third round of 32.
“We kind of mopped the floor with them,” Bloom said. “We were kind of on top the entire time.”
The Slippery Rock team then fell 2-0, encountering top-seeded and undefeated Simon Fraser University.
Seth Barnett, a freshman, typically plays the marksman role, but played the jungler position in the playoffs. Both are positions in the League of Legends.
“When you play a normal game by yourself, you are matched with random teammates and your goal is usually to help yourself in the game,” Barnett said. “During team play, the goal is to help the entire team.”
Barnett said the team played well, despite getting swept.
“Most of our team was winning early in the game, and we tried to take control of the map,” he said. “However, their team was so coordinated that they would capitalize on everything despite our early lead.”
Barnett said the experience of making the playoffs was important for the team's growth.
“The game we played last was a great display of how good coordination can help you win more than just skill,” Barnett said. “The playoffs were just matches against better opponents and showed us how to improve against them.”
Bloom said the team has a lot of potential, and he would also like to recruit other high-caliber players who attend the university.
“I want to be able to be on a JV1 team next semester,” he said. “It'd be much harder competition, but much greater reward.”
Harper said the team is motivated and ambitious, which is what they need in their first competitive team.
“All these guys have the potential that they're going to make it far,” he said.
<b>Esports expansion</b>League of Legends is the first, but the club has been working on filling rosters for other competitive teams too, according to Harper.The club also has or is working to fill rosters for the games Super Smash Bros., Rainbow Six Siege and Overwatch, among others. The club even hosted its first tournament, a Super Smash Bros. event, that brought 60 entrants from colleges across the state to clash in virtual battle.“Way further down the line, maybe we can have bigger tournaments that can bring in top players from around the country,” Harper said. “If we can do stuff like that we can put Slippery Rock on the map potentially for esports. I think we have the potential to do that.”Harper said esports is providing more opportunities to college students these days with scholarships available upon winning tournaments. Although a new concept to Slippery Rock University, some universities even offer scholarships as part of their athletic programs.“We're athletes in a different type of way,” Harper said.Harper said esport gamers have to focus and analyze things like roles, positioning and statistics as just a small piece of their technique and strategic arsenals.“The way that we think and the way that we do things, I think, is very comparable to even our D-2 athletes here,” Harper said. “That's no disrespect to them in any way. It's just to say that the work we put in is equal to them, and I think it's only right to think that we get the same opportunities they have.”But overcoming social stigmas has also become part of the grander game, according to Harper.“People see esports in a very negative light,” he said. “But this is a big field.”<b>Challenges ahead</b>It's not unusual for pro gamers to earn good money, some nearing six figures.Players in the new Overwatch League developed last summer earned minimum salaries of $50,000 per year and also received health and retirement benefits, according to Blizzard Entertainment, who created the game and the league.On top of any salaries, gamers typically receive a percentage of any prize money, and their recognition creates a following of fans who pay to watch their favorite professionals play and practice on streaming sites, like Twitch, YouTube and others.Harper said getting to the point where they can compete for scholarship money will only prepare their more serious gamers for the challenges that lie ahead in the pro scene.“I think we have the potential, and we have the drive to be able to put ourselves in that market to say that we are competitive and we deserve to be held in that regard as everybody else,” he said.<b>Open options</b>But things can't be serious all the time, as they've learned through previous failures, Harper said.The current club is a spinoff of a League of Legends-exclusive club formed last year.Harper said many were disappointed by the club's focus on one game. With only four members left by the end of last year, the remaining members demolished and rebuilt their club into its current form.“We said this is lame, let's make this better,” Harper said. “Instead of just exclusive League of Legends, let's open it to everyone.”The club now embraces and incorporates the casual gamer, according to Harper. A casual gamer is anyone who plays only for fun. Harper said casual gamers can still be competitive, but the victory itself is their prize, and they don't shy away from playing more story-based games.With the new philosophy of having a mix of competitive and casual gamers, the membership has climbed to 34 students. He said there are also teachers, especially those who play video games, wanting to get involved.“We're more than just competitive gaming,” he said. “We want (students) to know that if (they) like video games and (they) want to come have fun, then we're the place to be.”<b>Rock solid support</b>The university is also starting to support the club, promising $3,000 for next year.“We won't have to worry about people bringing their own TVs and consoles and stuff,” Harper said.He said the club has plans to buy two TVs, a Nintendo Switch and a PlayStation 4, and the use of remaining funds will be evaluated after those first purchases.“We are sort of looking for being able to have every single console we can,” Harper said. “We want to be able to appeal to everyone.”Harper said the club has the right formula for success, and it is starting to get noticed.He said new members will continue to join and come if the club's leadership, even after he's gone, keep moving forward with an open mind and as long as people still love to play video games.“We're all about people just having fun,” Harper said. “This is just the start.”
