About two dozen new and returning students huddled around big screens in the Heskett Center esports hub for informal Rocket League and Super Smash Brothers Ultimate tournaments.
Campus Recreation introduced students to competitive gaming during Wichita State’s esports open house event on Wednesday.
Will Schlotterback and Alex Young are freshmen roommates who have played Super Smash Bros. in their dorm almost every day since moving onto campus. They went to the esports event to meet new people and test their skills against others.
“I love these events because it gets all of the same people together; people who are super interested in these fun times, get togethers and video games,” Young said.
Malachi Austin, a freshman who played esports for his high school in Oklahoma, said that he wants to join the Wichita State varsity team for a chance at scholarships and new friends.
“This is how I spend most of my time,” Austin said. “I find more people I don’t really know, and I end up talking to them or I run into people I already know.”
Freshman Chase Lamb won two of the group Super Smash Bros. tournaments at the event. He says he began to play the game competitively in high school against people older than him after a friend took him to an event.
“I knew going into college that I wanted to look at potential, like, esports stuff,” Lamb said. “I saw flyers for this one, so I came and showed up, and it’s been a great time so far.”
Lamb said that he appreciates the competitive aspect of esports.
“Not everybody is able to go out in the extreme heat or exert their body for a long period of time to play a full game,” Lamb said. “For me, I just have some issues with my body that make it hard to do physical exercise for long periods of time.
“And so it’s like getting the competition aspect that you would get from a regular sport … but also getting this feeling of competition in a way that’s meaningful to you.”
The esports team offers competitive Call of Duty, Overwatch 2, Rocket League, Super Smash Brothers Ultimate and Valorant.
The open campus esports tryouts will be held online through the esports Discord on Aug. 28-30 from 6 to 9 p.m.
