Collegiate esports have existed for a long time, but the sport started to make waves in the late 2000s with student gaming clubs, which then structured the first varsity program at Robert Morris University in 2014.
The programs being established at universities have grown increasingly since then, and there are nearly 200 schools today that have collegiate esports programs for student gamers to join and compete in. Many programs even offer scholarships to their members.
Collegiate esports are also a gateway to more opportunities for competing athletes. Many athletes go into broadcasting or coaching because they have valuable knowledge in their respective games and want to stay involved.
Overall, esports is a growing competitive field, but many people do not realize how much time and effort goes into the sport. There are many different factors that play into the preparation for every match and every game, and the esports program at Wartburg College continues to improve season after season.
The Wartburg Esports program first began in the fall of 2022. Initially, the games they competed in included Rocket League, League of Legends, Valorant and Overwatch. The Knights claimed their first victory during their inaugural event when the League of Legends team swept Kansas State University on Sept. 21, 2022.
However, Overwatch quickly emerged as the strength of the Wartburg Esports team. In their inaugural season, the Overwatch team won the national finals of the National Esports Collegiate Conference (NECC) Navigators League bracket. In the Knights’ second season competing in the Overwatch national finals, the team claimed the national runner-up in the NECC Emergents Division bracket. The record-setting finishes showed what the program was capable of.
Third year Tyler Reeves, who competes in Overwatch for the Wartburg Esports team, explains the actual competition that takes place in the program today.
“For our competition, we will play a best-of-5 match,” Reeves says. “There are different game modes, and each round there are character bans that can restrict our team compositions…You rinse and repeat this until a team has three wins.”
When learning about esports, many people overlook the hours of preparation that are required for each event. Like most sports teams, they watch film to critique their performance and work on different plays that can benefit them in their competitive matches.
“To prepare for upcoming events, the Overwatch team spends a lot of time watching our film and learning how we can improve,” Reeves says. “We then take that and try to apply it to our gameplay and practice in ranked modes.”
There are other strategies and modes of practice that the Knights will utilize to prepare before their matches.
“We also discuss team combinations and synergies that can give us a competitive advantage,” Reeves continues. “We will also occasionally scrimmage against other teams as a form of practice.
While esports is a heavily team-oriented sport, it also requires focus on individual skills. Reeves shares some of his personal training choices.
“When I practice, I spend a lot of time working on my aim and movement,” Reeves says. “I will also spend a lot of time thinking about my positioning and where I think I should be in many different moments.”
Although the Wartburg Overwatch team was 7-8 this season, the accomplishments and experiences from the season will allow the Knights to continue their success and progress of the program.
For more information or interest in joining the Wartburg Esports team, contact head coach Josh Fischer at [email protected].
