By AUSTIN MORTON, Senior Reporter
An arena for training, a scholarship for incoming players and divisional tournaments every season.
This isn’t football. This is esports.
Esports, short for electronic sports, is the organized playing of competitive multiplayer video games by individuals or teams. Much like traditional sports, esports are also played at the collegiate level, and Northwestern’s esports program is expanding in multiple ways.
Evan Vaverka, instructor of computer science, oversees the esports program at Northwestern. He has been working to expand it since 2015.
Originally a student interested in competitive games like “League of Legends,” Vaverka has been working to make the esports group on campus feel like an actual organization.
Beginning with a place to train and compete in, the esports arena is nearing completion in Shockley Hall.
Here, players have access to high-end computers that allow them to compete without any technical worries.
Some of the games the esports teams play include “Overwatch,” “Super Smash Brothers” and “Call of Duty.”
The players train in this arena and prepare for tournaments for whatever game is in season. This is also where local tournaments take place.
The players will be able to compete in a variety of tournaments, both at the state and regional levels. Tournaments are conducted by game companies and the Oklahoma Association of Collegiate Esports.
Whichever game is in-season hosts a collegiate tournament, where the Northwestern team will compete against other schools in the region. These can include much larger schools like Georgia Tech in Atlanta.
Starting this fall, esports players can also obtain scholarships for playing, similar to those for football and basketball players. This scholarship will be applicable for 25 to 30 students.
“I really think it’s going to help the program grow over time,” Vaverka said.
One of the recent tournaments was for “Super Smash Brothers.” It was put together by one of the members of the esports group, John Cloud, a sophomore computer science major.
“I see it more as a club,” Cloud said of the esports program. “If you play a game and want others to play it, come to esports.”
The esports group plans to have a tournament every other week and add an entry fee to make the tournaments more professional.
“The tournaments usually have around 10 to 20 people, some of whom have never even played competitively,” Cloud said.
Some students have not even heard of the term “esports.” Megan Valdez, a general studies major, is one of these students.
“Is it like WiiSports?” Valdez asked.
Vaverka does not want this lack of knowledge to act as a barrier to entry.
“We want wins,” Vaverka said. “But having fun and making friends is more important.”
