Not child's play
Slippery Rock University's Esports Club is aiming to reach the next level.
“We're still growing in a huge upward trend, and I don't see it stopping any time soon,” said Zeve Olbum, president of the SRU Esports Club.
Esports, a form of competition using video games, started at SRU as a student organization last year and received school support this year in being named a club sport.
Last year, the club had 45 members. This year, it had more than 90.
Olbum said the club fields teams in Overwatch, CS-Go, League of Legends, Rainbow Six Siege, Rocket League and its latest addition, Super Smash Bros., all of which are popular video games played casually by millions and professionally by elite well-paid players.
Olbum said each of their teams participates in some form of league play with the possibility of cash prizes or gaming accessories.
Now that they are further backed by the school, Olbum said he would like to see a gaming lab for the club's players, and down the road, if SRU's players can prove their skills and talent, they could be offered scholarships.
“That's something I definitely see happening,” he said.
One of the latest teams to join SRU esports was the Smash team, which operated as its own entity until this year.Olbum said by absorbing the Smash team, they offer the players a chance to represent SRU at tournaments.“I talked to (team leader Josh Malone), and they pretty much migrated to the esports umbrella,” Olbum said.Last month players from the team and other players around campus participated in a weekend tournament at the Smith Student Center.Super Smash Bros. is a fighting game franchise in which the player is tasked with knocking their opponent off the stage through the use of classic video game characters, such as Pac-Man, Mario and a variety of Pokemon.Club member Mike Wilczynski Jr., a junior, took third place at the 32-person tournament.“I used Bowser,” Wilczynski said. “He's a very powerful character. He has a lot of very strong hard-hitting moves, and he's also a heavy character.”Bowser is a video game character from the Mario Bros. video game franchise.Wilczynski said the memorable characters in the fighting game is what he thinks will help bring more attention to the Esports Club.“I think it would be a really good opportunity because there's a lot of people who don't relate to mainstream sports, but everybody knows the characters in Super Smash Bros. Everybody knows Mario and Donkey Kong,” he said. “It could raise SRU to a huge level.”Team leader Josh Malone, an SRU junior, said the group travels almost every week to a tournament, typically hitting Pittsburgh, Erie and Ohio, but exploring other areas too.“We travel a lot because club members are so hungry for improvement,” he said.
Olbum, who is also a member of the school's swim club, said the Smash team is unique in the way that a swim or wrestling team is unique.He said the players or athletes compete individually but as a part of a team. They practice together but compete against each other.“While Smash is not necessarily a team or a team-based game, they travel and practice as a team,” Olbum said.Malone took first place at the Rock the Weekend tournament.He said tournaments at SRU helped its team members practice and show how the club operates to people who may be interested in joining.He said many people are simply looking to get better at the game, so they can compete for prize money at bigger tournaments.“You can be on your own and that's fine,” Malone said. “It's so different sitting down and playing someone face to face in a bracket match, and it's so different to get some feedback. Just playing online, you don't get that feedback.”
Rock the Weekend was a stand-alone tournament, but the Smash team holds weekly open tournaments to hone their skills against one another.Wilczynski said these half-practice, half-glory competitions are constructive similar to one-on-one sessions with a tennis instructor.He said tournaments are a time where your biggest ally is your opponent and your biggest critic yourself.“There's no real trash talking,” he said. “For being a competitive environment, it's a completely positive and reassuring experience.”Malone said the other reassuring aspect of the Smash team and SRU esports as a whole is how open they are to new members.“You don't have to be super skilled to join a team,” he said. “It's for all skill levels.”
