ASMSA joins the esports ranks

From the left, Wyatt Hoyt (‘19) and Worthy Fleming (‘19) watch Colin Rogers (‘19) play a round of ‘Tom Clancy’s Rainbow Six Siege.’ Team members work together to either capture or protect various sites on a combat map in the game. This past year, ASMSA officially sponsoredesports teams for two high school esports leagues, one of which used ‘Rainbow Six Siege’ as its official league game.

Joining the Esports Ranks

ASMSA team tops inaugural season in high school gaming leagues with trip to national tournament

Students playing video games in their rooms aren’t a new phenomenon at ASMSA. There’s been plenty a game of “Super Smash Brothers” played on ancient consoles in the student lounges. The games can bring lots of opportunities to release the daily pressure of classes and build community among peers.

At one time, the game “League of Legends” was listed as ASMSA’s official “sport” on WikiPedia. If only the contributor knew somehow that would become true in the future.

In the past year, a group of students had a more — dare we say — legitimate reason to gather in front of their computers in their rooms. ASMSA joined the official world of esports, competing in two different competitive high school leagues.

For those not familiar with esports,

the term is short for electronic sports. Esports leagues provide platforms for gamers to compete against each other. In the case of the leagues in which ASMSA participates, matches are held online. Tournaments can be held in a central location, but even then gamers are logged onto individual computers, using headsets and microphones to communicate with each other during the game.

ASMSA plays in the High School Esports League and the PlayVS league. Both leagues gave ASMSA teams the chance to play against other high schools. PlayVS has an Arkansas high school league that falls under the supervision of the Arkansas Activities Association (AAA), the body that oversees traditional athletics and other extracurricular activities in high schools across the state..

Yes, all those hours of screen time are worth it

Kyle Giersdorf, better known in esports as Bugha, won the inaugural Fortnite World Cup Solo competition in July. The 16-year-old walked away with a $3 million dollar prize. He also has signed a contract to play for the Sentinels, a Los Angeles-based pro esports team. A 13-year-old player who goes by King won a $900,000 prize for placing fifth. Even players in the 100-deep field who finished the tournament without scoring a point walked away with $50,000.

You can earn an esports college scholarship

A Wired online article in January said the average scholarship competitive esports players earned was worth $4,800, according to statistics from the National Association of College Esports. Henderson State University in Arkadelphia was the first college in Arkansas to offer esports scholarships. Arkansas State University and Lyon College also have official esports programs.

You don’t need a ball to make the big bucks

A May 2018 Forbes magazine article said that the esports is growing at a phenomenal rate. Newzoo, a global leader in esports, games, and mobile intelligence, said the esports global market was growing at a 41 percent clip and expected to top $1.5 billion by 2020 when about 300 million people will watch an esports event. That is up from $362 million in 2017. For comparison, the NHL is at about $4 billion.

One team focused on playing “Tom Clancy’s Rainbow Six Siege” in the HSEL while the other team played “League of Legends” in PlayVS. The HSEL team did well enough in the fall season to finish seventh place in the fall national playoffs. That qualified the team to participate in the HSEL Summer Invitational, a national tournament featuring the top 16 teams from the fall and spring seasons. The team finished eighth in the summer finals that were held in Las Vegas in June.

“At the beginning of the year, we started out holding tournaments in school,” said Worthy Fleming (’19), one of the team captains. “Colin (Rogers ’19) and I were already playing and he brought up the idea for an esports league. I and a few of my buddies already played in a league. We got pretty far in the winter season.”

Fleming’s team played “League of Legends” more, while Rogers was a “Rainbow Six” player. Both games have five players at a time actively participating on the team. Once Rogers suggested starting an official school league team, they took the idea to Bret Vallun, a student success coordinator on campus, to see if he would serve as a club adviser. They then approached Director Corey Alderdice about getting support for the team.

Vallun also serves as the coach and adviser for the ultimate Frisbee team. That team began competing as a club team in various tournaments around the state. Vallun said he saw the same value in an esports team.

“I see this as an advertisement for our school,” Vallun said. “If we invest in this, not only do they have fun but it also provides stress relief. And I think it will help recruit students.”

During this past, individual students logged in to computers in their rooms. They use Discord, a free text and voice chat service, to communicate with each other during the game. They discuss strategy, alert each other of the other team’s positions and organize league games with other teams through the service.

Future games will be held in the Boole Lab. Team members worked with information technology staff to develop an on-campus “arena” in the lab. The machines were custom built to support gaming. The lab not only gives the competitors dedicated devices in their own space with which to compete this year, but it also creates a space where other students can observe the games and cheer on their classmates.

If you think that it must be a small number of players participating in the leagues, you’d be wrong. In the HSEL, there are three conferences or leagues. Each one — a Pacific, a Central and an East Coast league — had 50 teams each.

“In the central, there are 24 to 25 good teams,” Rogers said. “It was much more serious.”

PlayVS had leagues based in individual states. Some schools had at least two teams. Several had up to five or more.

“I was surprised by how many schools are on this,” Vallun said. “This was the first year for Arkansas to have a league. It has come a long way from what I may think of as a ‘normal’ sport and how things have come along in gaming and technology. Our players are extremely knowledgeable about their games. I see a lot of opportunity for leadership.”

Vallun likely wouldn’t be the only person surprised at the growth in esports, not only in high schools but also in colleges. According to a KATV report, Henderson State University was the first college in the state to offer scholarships for an esports team. Lyon College and Arkansas State University also have official esports programs that include scholarships and are members of the National Association Collegiate esports. The University of Arkansas offers a competitive club team.

According to a Fortune article in February 2019, the total revenue for the global esports market is expected to hit $1.1 billion this year — a 26.7 percent year-over-year growth compared to 2018. Audience figures for esports are estimated to grow to 454 million this year and could reach 645 million by 2022, the article said.

“If colleges are going to give scholarships, and it’s considered athletics, I think it can be a viable sport for us. How many schools can have it at this level? I think it’s wise for us to invest in esports,” Vallun said.