It’s been a historic season for the St. Cloud State esports competitive teams. If you’re interested in getting involved in the competitive scene, or just supporting this department, feel free to attend Esports Tryouts on January 20 and 22 of 2024. The event is on Huksiesconnect under ‘Esports Launch Week’.
Competition
Our Rocket League team had an exciting run through playoff matches this year. In two leagues: the National Association of Collegiate Esports (NACE) and National Esports Collegiate Conferences (NECC), the Rocket League team made their way to Divisional Finals which is the very end of the Midwest bracket. In the NACE Divisional Finals, our Rocket League team was runner-up against Western Kentucky University – a difficult match. Days later in NECC Divisional Finals, the match was set against a school we had faced multiple times this season: North Dakota State University. In a best of 7 match, NDSU won the first round however SCSU took the next 4 rounds securing a decisive win. In our second year playing collegiate esports with Rocket League, our team is dominating the competitive scene.
The Smash Bros Ultimate team also fought their way to the very end of playoffs. In the NACE Divisional Finals, we were runner-up against DePaul University. Smash is a bit different than Rocket League logistically. Still, the opponent school is remote, but players must face 1v1 against another team’s player by swapping the hot seat with 3 other teammates. Super Smash Crew Battles or “SSCB” is the common mode played; it allows skilled players to show their qualities. Each team’s 4 players have 3 lives, and if faced against the next player with less than 3 lives – you’ll see them jump off the edge of the map to ensure fairness. Watching the end of the stream for SSCB at this level was truly a nail-biting time. Coach and player, Camren McCall entered the stage playing Kazuya. In the final match, with only 3 stocks (or lives) he was faced against the other school’s 9 stocks. Ultimately, he worked that down to 3, and after an hour of competition SCSU’s fate hung in the balance of 1 Kazuya life against a Ness player with 3. It was an uphill battle, and it was incredible Cam made it as far as he did. The match ended rapidly when Ness delivered a flurry of fire attacks that appeared unstoppable. Overall, the Huskies made themselves known in the Midwest scene for their strong first semester as a team; we look forward to what they’re able to accomplish this Spring.
Valorant Club President, Abish Tuladhar, said the team has had a productive semester. Competing in NECC as an Academy team, players gained “hands-on” experience at the collegiate level. When asked to comment, he highlighted how “The Valorant club learned about game ethics, tactic-making, importance of communication, utility-usage, and most importantly following the rules. The first season was a banger! and we’re cooking up something even more exciting next season. I, as an executive member, have many goals for the club: recruit, grow, compete, but most importantly HAVE FUN.” In the competitive pipeline of SCSU, the best preforming Academy Team may be selected to Varsity competition; Valorant Club is excitedly gearing up for that playing field.
Careers
On December 2nd and 3rd, the staff of the esports department had a unique opportunity. Our director: Chase Neukam was the founder – along with Coach McCall – of an esports tournament in Davenport, Iowa called Honeypot. “Tournament” is almost too simple a word; this event contained 9 different fighting games like Mortal Kombat, Super Smash Bros, Tekken and more. Honeypot attracts some of the top talent across the Midwest, if not the nation. Honeypot 6 brought in 432 competitors making it the largest esports event in Iowa history.
At the event, Chase MC’ed and Camren TO’ed; our esports staff helped wherever possible. The Content Team periodically interviewed players and staff (posted to Twitter: check them out!). The Recruitment Team had a booth intended to persuade players to attend SCSU, all while our 4 Smash players competed in Smash Bros Ultimate Bracket against some intimidating foes. One player: Riley, competed in the Smash Bros melee bracket and made it all the way to 9th out of 60. The Rocket League Coach and Manager also TOed: ensuring a fair competition between all the players. Overall, it was a huge moment for SCSU esports staff to tout; our staff didn’t just attend this massive event but worked at it and learned tons about the scene. Partnering with grassroots events such as Honeypot sets St. Cloud State University apart from other collegiate esports players.
If you’re interested in learning about esports don’t forget there is the esports minor and a major on the way. In Spring 2024, There are two esports’ classes taught by Dr. Kurtis Homan and Chase Neukam: MCOMM 472 and 405 respectively. The first of which teaches commentary skills which could prepare you to shout cast on the weekly Varsity streams. It’s also worth mentioning, The Content Team has grown this semester. We have hired a Videographer and more recently an Event Manager. Both will be integral to esports events on campus by documenting involvement in the esports community. If you’re interested in joining the esports department, we’re always willing to interview passionate applicants. There’s still a videography position available on the Content Team (check Handshake!).
Community
The Esports Coalition continues to be important pillar of community at St. Cloud State University. Meeting in Garvey Commons on 11/13, the Breakfast Club provided a forum between coalition leaders and SCSU administrators. Together, the Breakfast Club discussed the investment of time and energy from student leaders and ways to increase growth. This month, the Club had a guest from the local Rocket League community of MCS: Alex May. He has years of experience in growing a competitive yet supportive community with college-age people through MCS. One area of growth among the coalition was the creation of the Minecraft Club with Alex Scineers as President. Overall, it was a productive summit and hopes are high for the coming semester.
On the topic of growth, the Esports department partnered with the Residential Life department on campus with an inter-campus Mario Kart Tournament called Building Battles. The idea with this event was to pit Resident Halls across campus against one another in a Mario Kart bracket. Altogether, there were 4 halls in the preliminary rounds (Case-Hill, Shoemaker, Mitchell and Stearns), with 3 players securing entrance to the finals. Building Battles finals was held on November 28th in the Huskie’s Esports Arena. In the end, the player from Mitchell Hall: Sage took it all. He played a perfect game in the preliminary rounds and managed to keep up his excellent kart-ing prowess. Still, the other 2 players were not far behind. Stay tuned for the next Building Battles in the Spring, it should be another impressive yet inviting event to play in.
Socials
Twitter: https://twitter.com/SCSUesports
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/scsuesports/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/scsuesports,
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCuWvNtvbLZ0DXRdfv0E0_3Q
Email, with any questions! esports@stcloudstate.edu