Clinching the top seed in the GGLeagues Summer 2022 season tournament, Minot State’s Esports Club’s undefeated Division C “League of Legends” team looks to level-up to legendary status by bringing home a championship for the Beavers.
Esports, often considered a shortened version of the term “electronic sports”, has grinded its way to immense popularity and profitability, most notably in the past 20 years. Although commonly affiliated with the streaming platform Twitch, esports has now established an undeniable seat at the mainstream sports table thanks to the combination of a fan-base stretching across a diverse set of demographics, growing corporate sponsorships, and a recent decline in traditional sports viewership.
Spanning a wide genre of games, esports has even found a reoccurring spot on the global sports juggernaut ESPN’s regular programming thanks to the rising popularity of titles such as Madden Football, the NBA 2K basketball franchise, Rocket League, and the aforementioned League of Legends. Consequently, profit opportunities continue to rise as more and more companies recognize the financial viability associated with the multi-billion dollar esports market.
Yet, in spite of its growing popularity and recognition, some still debate the credibility of considering esports a “real sport.” However, to Minot State Esports Club advisor and assistant professor of psychology Ethan Valentine, esports encompasses all of the required components often associated with traditional sports.
“The team has put in a lot of work over the spring semester and during the summer. This summer, the team has been practicing every Monday and Tuesday for two to three hours, in addition to discussing strategies and reviewing the teams they’re playing against next.”
Valentine went on to state, “On top of those scheduled practice times, the team has been meeting after every league match to review footage and discuss ways to improve going forward. In that way, their preparation is pretty similar to what we would see in traditional sports- reviewing film, talking about ways to improve, and implementing those discussions in practice matches.”
Established in January, the MSU Esports Club’s “League of Legends” team is captained by Branden Pelzer and comprised of members Emily Couse, Tam Vu, Clay Mantz, and Brendon Watson. Also on the roster are Reid Tarbox and Sawyer Goodwin, serving as substitutes for the team.
Coming as a result of their undefeated regular season, the MSU “League of Legends” team secured a first-place seed and an automatic berth in the semifinals.
Elaborating on the upcoming match, Valentine noted, “Our students know that they’ll face one or two teams in the semifinals, but they won’t know specifically who until a few minutes before the match begins because of how the scheduling works out. During the semifinal match, teams will play in a best-of-three format- if our MSU team wins two rounds, they’ll go to the finals on July 27. The finals will be best-of-five, so the teams will have a longer, tougher match that time around.”
Valentine proceeded to speak with even deeper conviction regarding the thoroughness of the team’s preparation by adding, “The MSU team has previously played against- and beaten- most of the teams in the playoffs, but that doesn’t guarantee that the other teams will be pushovers. Our students are still practicing this week and next to be ready for whoever they’re up against.”
The Minot State Esports Club’s “League of Legends” team will compete in the semifinal contest tonight at 8:30 p.m. on the club’s Twitch channel, @msesportsclub. If they clinch the win, they will advance to earn a spot in the finals on July 27 at 7 p.m.
