Every Tuesday after school, the Antioch Community High School’s esports club can be found playing games, listening to music, hanging out with friends, exploring high-tech PCs, and playing the games one may love.
In the tech room, located in the back of the ILC, the esports club uses PCs and Nintendo Switches to play video games such as “League of Legends,” a game where players choose champions to defend their bases and fight other players and “Super Smash Bros,” where one can choose between 89 different iconic Nintendo characters to battle each other. Despite the abundance of games they can enjoy playing with the club, they are not allowed to play any first-person shooters, which make up most of the games offered through the IHSEA.
The ACHS esports club is coached by student services worker Brett Heintz. His favorite aspect of the club is that it brings two completely different worlds together. The advancement of technology has allowed an abundance of people to get close despite their supposed differences. This is what Heintz thinks makes this club so special. It allows people who love sports and people who enjoy online gaming to fraternize.
“I’m enjoying this unique blend of a sports-like atmosphere with some of the most popular [online] games around,” Heintz said.
The esports club does more than just play games for recreational fun; it also competes. The esports club participates in tournaments and competitions, such as the “Super Smash Bros” tournament that took place after winter break. Matches and tournaments are usually set up via Discord, which is an app that can be used to connect with others through FaceTime, call, text, and get in touch. The IHSEA decides who plays which school and when they play, giving each school a set schedule so they are aware of any important dates for their clubs.
The team generally has practices where they meet in person, in the ACHS tech room, and they will also join a Discord call to practice the electronic sporting events with each other online.
Esports is rapidly gaining popularity due to the absurd amounts of money available to kids for playing a game. With the increase in popularity, it allows accessibility for students to increase, the esports club being one example.
“We have the chance to attend playoffs, which are Northern Illinois University this year. The sport is really growing at colleges, “ Heintz said.
Gamers have made earnings of over $7 million by themselves and for themselves. For example, a game of utmost popularity, “Fortnite,” the action-packed battle royale, held a tournament that took over ten weeks and a total of $1 million just for qualifiers, with the first place payout of $3 million and over 2 million people watching gamers eliminate competitors and build structures of protections. After the “Fortnite” World Cup, gamers around the world were inspired to not only make money but to make a living.
Esports, a world made of video games, is now considered a future for many kids around the world. Esports will most likely endure for an extended period of time due to its ability to adapt to its players’ views on the games and the unlimited room for future expansion.
ACHS offers an amazing opportunity to all students interested in the world of esports. Whether one is a sports fanatic or a video game connoisseur, they can find a spot in the esports club and enjoy a stress-free and lively extracurricular to expand their after-school horizons.
