JOHNSTOWN, Pa. – Donnavan Sanchez, a member of the Forest Hills esports team, waited patiently on Saturday to compete for his part of $10,000 in the All-Star Esports Showcase at the 1st Summit Arena @ Cambria County War Memorial.
He was one of 45 contestants from The Esport Company high school league that qualified for the TEC Con tournament in which the players competed against each other in video games “Rocket League”, “Valorant” and “Overwatch”.
“I never really thought it would have gotten this big,” Sanchez said.
Looking around the arena where people of all ages played PC games and tested virtual reality gear, he said it was “really awesome” that The Esport Company organized a three-day technology and video game convention in Johnstown.
The tournament was one of many events scheduled for the weekend at 1st Summit Arena and the Mark J. Pasquerilla Conference Center.
Aside from that, there were discussion panels, costume contests, vendors and more.
On Sunday, the convention continues with a college combine where scouts from Pennsylvania Highlands Community College, St. Francis University, Mount Aloysius College, the University of Pittsburgh at Johnstown and Seton Hill University will recruit the best high school Esports players.
“It’s pretty neat,” Andrew Flowers said.
The 18-year-old and his friends attended the event to check out what was being offered.
They frequently play video games together but not competitively.
Flowers described the convention as a cool environment and added that he was looking forward to watching the tournament.
“Being here is kind of exciting because there’s not much that goes on in Johnstown,” Linsey Ball said.
She attended with Flowers and was impressed by the convention.
Ethan Wingard, St. Francis esports coordinator, said an event like TEC Con is what the university’s investment into Esports has been building toward for the past four years.
“Bringing the event here, putting the computers out, and allowing people to compete for money, it shows you that this can be a legit future,” he said.
Wingard also noted that students from the area and outside of it could attend local colleges and universities, such as St. Francis, and continue their journey with Esports.
That path could lead them to a professional team, such as the Pittsburgh Knights, which were represented at the convention.
Roget Mitchell, Knights social media coordinator, said events like TEC Con show parents that there’s “a path and a career for their kids doing this stuff.”
He also stated that people interested in Esports don’t have to play video games, they can learn marketing, videography, coding or any number of other related pursuits.
Parent David Bowen said the entire experience was all new to him.
However, he was still happy to be there and support his daughter, competitor Veronica Crum.
“When she said she was selected for this I was very proud,” Bowen said.
TEC Con is what The Esport Company Founder Seth Mason has been building towards since he arrived in Johnstown a few years ago.
“It’s a whole vision that I had,” he said. “We’ve got a lot of people buying into it.”
Thus far the event has gone well and Mason has been pleased with the turnout.
He said he doesn’t want to constrict TEC Con to once a year but rather have spring, summer and fall events.
“This is bringing a whole new crowd to downtown Johnstown,” Mason said.
The entrepreneur also has big plans for The Esport Company headquarters at 217 Franklin St. and how his business can help be a part of the city’s comeback.
He hinted at future internships and exposing more people to the positive impact of esports.
For more information, visit www.tecconvention.com.
