The Esports Club is a relatively new club at the University of Idaho. They specialize in competitive video gaming where teams compete against other e-sports teams in tournaments. The games they play against one another can range from first-person team-based shooters like “Overwatch,” to fighting games like “Super Smash Bros,” to mass multiplayer role-playing games like “League of Legends.” Gamers can win prize money in these tournaments.
While competitive gaming has been around since the 1980s, it achieved popularity in the 2010s with gamers using YouTube and Twitch to help the popularity of esports grow. While there are major esport tournaments that occur around the world, they don’t garner as much attention as physical sports such as football. However, the Esports Club President Dylan Shelper and Vice President Tasha Scorah seek to recruit gamers and provide them an outlet for competitive gaming.
“I’ve always been really interested in esports,” Shelper said. “There was no outlet for it at high school because it’s really hard to get some sort of official club going with the school.”
Shepler said that after attending Vandals Game Night where he got to witness competitive gaming, he decided to see if there was an Esports Club on campus. He discovered that they were trying to get a club off the ground, but due to COVID-19 it was canceled. However, ownership of the club then passed to him, and he decided to try and get the Esports Club off the ground with the help from Scorah. According to Scorah, she is a very competitive gamer, which is why she joined the Esports Club.
“I really, really enjoy getting to put a team together and being able to communicate and go through all those motions,” Scorah said.
However, COVID-19 hasn’t been too kind to the team. Due to the restrictions it placed on Palousafest, it impacted their recruiting quite a bit. However, they still have been able to reach people. Vandal Game Night built their numbers. According to Shepler, they have at least 25 members on their Discord, though they are hoping to recruit more.
Both Shepler and Scorah are excited for their esports team and they hope it’ll change fellow gamers’ perspectives on the sport.
“It’s kind of frowned upon in most high school settings because it’s something that takes you away from all of your academics,” Scorah said. “So, for me being able to show that esports is not only a competitive scene that can be a source of income, but it also can help get you through college and high school with grades, successfully, is a really good thing for me.”
Shepler and Scorah said they have enough people for an “Overwatch” team, which is a popular online first-person shooter game. They also have plans to have the team work on other multiplayer games, such as “League of Legends” and “Apex Legends.” Also, they want to get a “Spellbreak” team up and running soon.
The reason why esports utilizes multiplayer games is because esport tournaments are not only team based, but teamwork is essential to win a tournament. Scorah explained that trust in team players is more important than overall skill. It’s why when playing esports trust and teamwork are key—there are no solo riders.
The club has been reaching out to Lake City High School in Coeur d’Alene. They hope to start up an Esports Club at their former high school, and if it goes well, Scorah says that they hope to get other similar clubs started up in the Moscow area as well.
They hope that their team can be popular enough so they can take on Boise State’s Esports team. Both hope that they will get the opportunity to play BSU in the Kibbie Dome and beat them in an Esports Tournament, like the one that happened in 2018.
All gamers as welcome to join the Esports Club. They meet at PLAYlive Nation at the mall every Monday and Friday, where they host tournaments. However, gamers can join their Discord to communicate and attend meetings if they are concerned about COVID-19. If any gamers want more information about the Esports Club, they can email [email protected].
Ryan Hill can be reached at [email protected].