The spring semester has been a foundational time for our Esports program. Across multiple areas of Competition, Careers and Community: we’ve taken time to set ourselves up for long-term success.
Competition
This season, our program has taken steps to expand our competitive scene. After a successful fall semester, we’ve proven that our teams have some talented players: we’ve gone toe-to-toe with some of the best schools in the area. However, this isn’t the only objective within esports competition. We want continued talent development. Our program is unique, with club teams feeding into academy which feeds up to varsity. While we are still creating a club and an academy team for Rocket League; this semester has seen our Smash academy team and other clubs branching out. Here is our collegiate record so far:
| Game / Team | N.A.C.E. (W/L) | N.E.C.C. (W/L) |
| Rocket League / Varsity | 3 – 4 | 6 – 0 |
| Smash Bros / Varsity | 5 – 0 | 3 – 1 |
| Smash Bros / Academy | N/A | 2 – 4 |
Every Wednesday, we have Smash academy and varsity playing matches after one another while the open-to-all tournament: Breakaway is on the side. Everyone from all skill levels of Smash Bros Ultimate (and Melee) can participate in this event. We livestream this to our Twitch and YouTube which serves the players in their pursuit to improve and provides a platform for easy spectating. The team’s coach and manager (Cam and Riley) have made this livestream easy to use and enjoyable to watch with a Breakaway-branded overlay. This event draws in a consistent 20 players right now and it’s easy to see how it could expand. St. Cloud has a growing Smash scene with the growth of the club and large Smash events in the nearby area. Our campus has become a hub for players to grow together. The impressive collegiate team and the reliable Esports Arena should be enticing for prospective students.
On January 20th, our varsity Rocket League and Smash teams competed in the Northern Rift tournament put on by Wayne State College Esports and Maverick (Mankato State University) Esports. This was a Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference (NSIC) competition, which has roots in traditional athletics (like Baseball and Football). This was a great opportunity to get our school’s name out there and expand the program’s reputation. We placed first in Smash Ultimate and third in Rocket League.
On March 10th, we hosted the second “Northstar” Tournament featuring games like Smash Ultimate, Smash Melee, Street Fighter 6, Tekken 8 and Rocket League. It was a huge success. Last Northstar had 108 competitors while this one pulled in a substantial 221. We had 4 streams concurrently, 2 of them on larger channels who partnered with us like UGS Gaming and MN Smash. At Northstar II we were overjoyed to be sponsored by Monster Energy who provided us with a refrigerator, water bottles and free drinks for all players. The competition was split between the main event upstairs in the ballroom and Rocket League downstairs in the arena. We had top talent within the state attending this event who went on to win big: like Loaf, Erin, Lucky and Mirai. Meanwhile, the University of Minnesota took 1st place in Rocket League and side events like VR and Mario Kart were a welcomed addition. With this kind of fun yet competitive spirit, we’ve positioned this tournament to be a meaningful event for professional esports players. In the future, we hope Northstar III can receive the same level of adoration and care from everyone involved. Our staff worked diligently, and our competitors put on quite the show. Our content team walked the floor of the event and captured exciting moments from the streams. If you’d like to see the standings across the brackets of this event, go to: www.start.gg/northstar2
Competitors of Northstar II in Ballroom
Careers
From January 11th to 14th our esports staff attended the MNVL State Finals. This is a high school esports league which we’ve partnered with alongside other Minnesota colleges. Over these 4 days we set up our table and spoke to students. It’s exciting to see how these players have multiple schools trying to recruit them; their decision to attend college is being propelled by esports opportunities. We succeeded in expanding our brand and highlighting the staff and resources these students would enjoy if they decided to join our program. It’s impressive to see the opportunities MNVL has developed for their students. Just before the State Finals, MNVL announced they are creating a middle school league. Every student competing through MNVL will have a appreciation for the esports industry and what it can offer. As staff, we put our name out there and discussed the opportunities we have for those students to learn and grow. If they want a career as a player, we can support that. If they’d like a student worker position or have a passion for commentary: we’ve got that too.
In February, we were delighted to invite students from the Hmong Prep Academy and Little Falls Community High School on a tour of our esports arena and lounge. Showing students the resources available to our program cements the notion of “esports” as legitimate and worthy of consideration. Even for non- gamers, many teenagers understand the value of what we have to offer. Content creation, passion for games, and the competitive spirit routinely spark questions from all manner of people.
Coach Kye at MNVL State Finals
Community
On January 19th we began Level-Up Lounge which intends to create clubs on campus. With how many computers we have in the esports lounge, we wanted to take a more active approach to club creation. Level-Up Lounge is a more casual space for different games to be highlighted. Ideally, there are enough talented players who have a fun time and start up a club as a result. This event led to the beginning of a FIFA club, and we’re collaborating with the new PUBG Mobile club on March 22nd. All of this is an extension of our Esports Coalition. We’ve set a goal of having 10 clubs in our coalition this semester and are currently at 8. As Level-Up Lounge continues it can be a time for our clubs to support each other openly, taking turns leading the event.
Top players from Level-Up Lounge: Fortnite
On March 18th, 19th and 21st: we are partnered with RHA on campus to run Building Battles. This event features Smash Bros Ult and Mario Kart 8, set up within student halls. Starting in Mitchell, going to Case-Hill and ending in Shoemaker, this should be an exciting event for students who live on campus. We’re excited to offer goodie bags and t-shirts to the top players each night. The whole competition will lead to Building Battles Finals on March 28th which will be held in the Esports Arena and streamed (hopefully commentated too!). All this spurs club creation, program interest, and builds the larger campus community.