Top, left to right: Jerry Chavez, Francisco Rodriguiz, Connor Eppolito, Chris Hernandez, Nick Hernandez, Vincent Scala, Tristan Escobar
Bottom, left to right: Laura Kovalsky, Albert Wolfe, Vitoria Eaton
Photo by Zach Clark
Written by Jerry Chavez
It may or may not be very well known that the campus has an esports lounge with state of the art computers for gaming. The lounge not only boasts cutting edge gaming PCs and chairs, it also houses a vibrant community in the hero shooter scene. CI is home to three esports teams. The teams play “Marvel Rivals,” “Valorant” and “Overwatch.” Not only that, but the esports club hosts various events throughout the semester, from the one off “Super Smash Brothers Ultimate” tournament earlier this semester, to the various collaborative events. With CI esports, competitive play is more of a suggestion and not mandatory, leaving room for casual gamers and friends to join in. I recently sat down with Vice President of the esports club, Connor Eppolito, senior health science major, to gather his thoughts on the experience with CI esports.
“I’m captain of the ‘Overwatch’ team and ‘Marvel Rivals’ team,” says Eppolito. Currently, CI competes in ‘Marvel Rivals,’ ‘Overwatch,’ and ‘VALORANT.’ The teams have also traveled to play in LAN (local area network) tournaments․ “We came second in the Titan Cup, and we’ve had other good finishes in the ‘Marvel Rivals’ tournaments,” he added.
Eppolito goes on to explain his work ethics when it comes to scrims and gameplay, “When people join the team I always ask them why they joined․ The answers are always to get better, to make friends or to play with other people that also play․ A big part of our practice culture is talking about goals․ There are a lot of things esports can teach about life.” Eppolito maintains that he has placed in the top 500 ranks in most games he commits to, and “Overwatch” is no exception. “In ‘Overwatch’ I peaked at Top 22 and peaked at Champ 4. I am currently Champ 5, even after the rank reset and enjoying the update very much in ‘Marvel Rivals’ I have been a part of many teams and been top 80.”
Eppolito then goes on to clarify his stance on gaming, and tries to motivate his team mates with positive feedback.
“In every practice, I ask every player, regardless whether they’re a new player or one of our best players, to set at least two goals․ And I tell them to make them as objective and concrete as they can․ I would like for that to be a large part of our philosophy this semester and I hope that all of our players are able to translate that to all areas of their life,” he said.
The esports club recently collaborated on a friendly dodgeball game with the fraternity Beta Gamma Nu. “Dodgeball collaboration was awesome,” says Eppolito. “I was surprised by how many people were willing to come out and play. Some people weren’t even a part of either club and just friends of people that were recruited. I really enjoyed being able to do something as a CI campus, I think we should definitely look to have more cross-campus club collaborations, feel free to message the CI esports instagram for inquiries!”
The esports club at CI offers an inclusive environment for gamers and non-gamers alike, even if it is for casual play. Their Instagram and Discord servers keep students up to date with future endeavors. The club also features tournament streams. For any further information, head over to the esports lounge or contact any of their social media.
