On your mark. Get set. Go!

I bet the first thing on your mind was a race, right? This was actually the start of Rowan’s first esports competition held this past Saturday, Oct. 19. Esports is an organized sports competition in video game form.

Over 100 students were at this year’s competition held at the Rowan Recreation Center. The league featured tournaments such as League of Legends, Overwatch, and Rocket League. To go along with this, the first 100 fans received a special giveaway and attendees also answered trivia questions to earn prizes between matches. 

Andrew Havrisko is the assistant director of Intramural Sports and Special Events for campus recreation. Havrisko helped organize the successful event that will soon be a trend for years to come. 

“We all collaborated to make this event happen after the announcement came out about the partnership with Nerd Street. My role was to make sure everything was in place,” Harvisko said. “In the beginning, we planned out just having a tournament by just having students come out and play. Then we started thinking about a more interactive fan experience for people who would like to cheer on their friends. Students were really involved and wanted to play a role in all aspects.”

Sophomore chemistry major Evelyn Myer was one of many students participating in the event.

“I’ve been playing Overwatch for two and a half years,” she said. “I didn’t practice much except for Friday, I played like all day. I’ve always played Wheeler, I have a pretty strong foundation in it. Coming to this event allowed me to be in my element with people who actually know what they’re doing.”

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