Last year, South began the process of making an eSports team – but not much was known. Today, the eSports team is thriving, and many of the questions asked in the past can be answered. Here’s everything you need to know about South’s eSports team.
MCCSC took action to have South create the club because American colleges consider eSports an official sport, and have provided numerous scholarship opportunities for it.
One example of these scholarship opportunities is a scholarship at Ball State University, which offers $12,500 for out of state eSports students.
The club’s equipment was funded by MCCSC, with a grant they received from Indiana state government programs, who saw an opportunity for more unique talents to be recognized.
The club is sponsored and maintained by CRAM teacher Seth Pizzo, who took it over this year after the early developments last year.
Pizzo stated that many of the players were happy with the quality of the gaming computers, saying that they “had a big smile on their face[s].”
Junior Alan Brown highlighted the quality of the technology in the eSports room, stating that there’s just “10 ping” and over “300 fps (frames per second)” when playing with the Illinois servers.
The South eSports team currently has two games: Valorant and Super Smash Bros. Ultimate. Brown explained that each game features two teams, “the purple team and the white team… each has 5 players.” The teams compete against other schools once every week.
Senior Conrad Banach mentioned that games like “Fortnite, Minecraft, Tetris, chess, [and] Valorant,” are offered by Indiana eSports League, but there was a lack of interest which is why the club only plays Smash and Valorant.
Pizzo said that while those are the only two games being played currently, Fortnite will soon be added in the Spring Season which starts in January.
The Spring Season is also when new players can join the team, since until then the teams are locked in.
The teams at South may be few in number, but they’re very talented. Brown mentioned that the Valorant team at South is undefeated (5-0).
There’s no doubt that the eSports team is highly skilled in the games they play. Although the team is still relatively new, they’re soon to expand to other games.
Time will tell if they stay at the top of the league or fall down the ranks.
