It’s always been difficult to convince people that esports should be treated like traditional sports, said Alvin Chow, captain of Syracuse’s League of Legends team. But now more than ever, the industry has a chance to change that.

With the absence of traditional sports, esports is thriving, said Trent Pitoniak, vice president of ESSU, Syracuse’s esports club. Amid the pandemic, the streaming platform Twitch saw a 17% increase in hours watched compared to the fourth quarter of 2019, and the 121 million hours streamed this quarter is an all-time high. 

But for Syracuse esports, and many other collegiate teams, things have been at a standstill.

The four remaining in-person tournaments for Syracuse’s Overwatch team were canceled. Time zone differences between players make synchronous practices difficult to schedule. And the East Coast Athletic Conference, which SU’s esports teams compete in, has suspended the rest of the competitive season.

“On the collegiate level, things are kind of put on hold,” said Parker Klebahn, ESSU’s community coordinator.

On campus, Syracuse students — particularly ESSU members — use the esports room at the Barnes Center at The Arch. But at home, many of Syracuse’s esports players don’t have the same equipment. The time away from campus has been a reminder of the luxury the esports room provides, Klebahn said. Both competitive and casual members of Syracuse’s esports community depend on the room to gain access to the computing hardware necessary to play games at the highest level, he said.

Competing at the same level isn’t possible on personal laptops. Plus, many students who use their own high-quality computers left them in Syracuse and have returned home.

The Overwatch team used to practice regularly for two semester-long tournaments and then smaller, one-day tournaments every Sunday and Wednesday.

Continuing that rigorous practice schedule has been a challenge because team captain Evan Ridge’s roster includes players from the U.S., China and South Korea, spanning various time zones. They still have virtual tournaments to prepare for, and while some players continue to play casually, it’s not the same, Ridge said.

Despite these struggles, the club continues to do what it can to emulate the on-campus experience virtually, Klebahn said. Last weekend, it held its first organized event since students left campus, a Super Smash Bros. tournament called “WiFi Warriors.” Members have organized numerous League of Legends game nights.

The goal is to expose more people to esports, Klebahn said. It’s up to this generation to grow the industry and it’s acceptance, he said.

“It is my hope that we, as a club, can prosper coming out of this,” Pitoniak said. “For the grand scheme of things, I’m hoping that this shows people that esports can be taken seriously.”

Because of social distancing, games are uniting people by encouraging collaboration with friends at a time when physical interaction isn’t acceptable. Esports fanatics are having birthday parties and weddings through video games, Klebahn said. They’re even hanging out with friends, the same way you “watch a traditional sporting event on your couch with your friends.”

As a whole, the industry is showing the world that competitive esports are as intense as any athletic event, Chow said. ESPN has been airing League of Legends events and iRacing, where professional drivers use racing simulators to race from home. Basketball and soccer players are turning to NBA 2K and FIFA, respectively. People are noticing esports more than ever, Chow said.

“This is a good time for esports,” Pitoniak said. “Games, as a whole, will hopefully grow to be a more dominant force for people and may get the next generation of players started.”

 

Published on April 20, 2020 at 11:14 pm

gfpagano@syr.edu