SRU student Wayne Bloom plays League of Legends in his dorm room in Rhoads Hall on the campus of Slippery Rock University on Tuesday April 10, 2018.

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 found early success with its League of Legends team.

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.”

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.”

Wayne Bloom, a freshman and captain of the SRU team would also like to recruit other high-caliber players who attend the university.

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.

But things can't be serious all the time, as they've learned through previous failures, Harper said.

The club now embraces and incorporates the casual gamer.

With the new philosophy of having a mix of competitive and casual gamers, the membership has climbed to 34 students and the university is also starting to support the club, promising $3,000 for next year.

Read the full story in Wednesday's Butler Eagle.

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