Sports and video games are two sides of the same coin, they both involve a lot of activity that can teach valuable lessons and bring people together. These two forms of entertainment have been a huge part of modern culture, and likely will be for a very long time. When you combine the two mediums, however, you get eSports. ESports has become a very popular form of entertainment and teambuilding within the last few years.
Many schools and colleges have become aware of this and have started their own ESports teams, and MSSU is no different.
The MSSU eSports team is relatively new, only first established in 2021. The eSports team aims to build community through the medium of gaming by playing a variety of games such as Super Smash Bros., Rocket League, and Call of Duty.
The eSports team does many events throughout the semesters, typically having competitions with other universities’ eSports teams almost every week.
“Ever since we were kids, we loved playing video games,” Vice President Mansour Alaql said. “and being able to play it at a professional level in college against other universities and getting scholarships and getting to know people and all that was the main reason why we did this.”
Many factors go into the success of an ESports team, especially in the way they learn to play.
“It’s definitely hard since there’s lots of games and every game has its own meta and mechanics you have to learn,” eSports coach Jesse Brower said. I do a fair amount of coaching with the games I’m familiar with like Smash Bros. or Rocket League, but we also have team captains we elect for specific teams; that way those people can get a little more insightful feedback if maybe I’m not super knowledgeable about that game.”
The eSports team has continued to grow throughout the semester, despite being small and relatively new. According to Team President Luis Moreno, “all of us have been improving and growing as people and in our gameplay styles.”
The MSSU eSports team has made a massive impact on the students and staff involved. Through the passion of gaming and through a lot of hard work, this community shows how much the magic of video games can bring the best out of everyone by building teams and even making careers out of their love of the game.
