From competing in national tournaments to weekly game nights, Gamecock Esports is home to a large community of both competitive and casual gamers.
Gamecock Esports is technically considered a sports club at USC, and while it might be less physical than most clubs of its category, it is structured similarly to other sports. Within each of the different competitive games, there are coaches, team captains, A-teams and B-teams and weekly practices which involve reviewing replays of previous games and scrimmages with other schools. Teams even travel across the country to compete in tournaments.
“It’s like a travel event,” said Gamecock Esports president Rodney Davis, a fourth-year sports and entertainment management student."We go play in events, stay in a hotel, maybe play the next day maybe not, but overall it's a lot of fun."
Currently, Gamecock Esports has competitive teams for “Super Smash Bros.,” “League of Legends,” “Overwatch,” “Rocket League,” “PUBG,” “Fortnite,” “Heroes of the Storm,” “Rainbow Six Siege,” “Magic the Gathering” and “CS:GO.” Many of those teams have found success, with the “League of Legends” team finishing in the top 100 of the nation, “Overwatch” finishing as high as top 10 and “Rocket League” and “Super Smash Bros.” both finishing in the top five multiple times.
The “Rocket League” team even has its own star player, Ryan Keith. “Rocket League” team captain Jared Stephens said Keith is "on the bubble" of the professional scene, meaning he has the skill to go pro but needs to have his "lucky break" in a game or tournament.
According to Stephens, a grad student studying information science, Keith is “one of the best players in collegiate ‘Rocket League.’”
In a recent game, the Rocket League team defeated No. 2 in the nation, the University of Oregon. Stephens said the game was a best of five series, with Gamecock Esports winning with a "blow-out" victory in game five.
Despite finding such success, Stephens *said he* feels that Gamecock Esports doesn’t get the recognition it deserves.
"For a team that makes it as far as we all do, but to have no recognition outside of just ourselves, it's kind of disappointing," Stephens said.
Unlike USC, other schools such as Akron have official esports programs with directors similar to athletic directors. Colleges such as UCLA and University of South Carolina Aiken even have dedicated practice facilities for esport activities.
Gamecock Esports hopes to have its own practice facility in the future, and while not much has been finalized, it was working on developing it before COVID-19. As of now, the plan is for it to be a gaming cafe with priority or exclusivity to club members.
However, aside from its competitive portion, Gamecock Esports has a large casual community. The club hosts weekly game nights featuring games outside of their competitive teams, and even include board games in the Honors residence hall.
"If anyone's ever interested, even the slightest bit, in games, not even if they want to play it at the highest level, being part of the esports club is a great way to make friends and really broaden the spectrum of interests you might have in gaming,” said Cameron Maund, fourth-year student and “League of Legends” head coach.