We spoke to local gamers to see the competitive gaming opportunities on offer…
There are a variety of societies at NTU but one of the more unique is the Gamer Society. In addition to playing and discussing games, students within the society compete in esports which have risen in popularity in recent years especially after teenager Kyle Giersdorf won $3 million in a World Cup Tournament in the popular online game Fortnite. But what exactly are esports and who are the people who compete in them? Read on as Platform writer Stuart interviews Politics student Thomas Sloan, Computer Science student Anthony Langsdale-Foster and Chemistry student Thomas Clarke about how and why they take part in this exciting new concept.
Stuart McComb: Which games do you compete in?
Thomas Sloan: Rainbow Six – I helped set up the team.
Anthony Langsdale-Foster: I helped to set up the Dota 2 team but also compete.
Thomas Clarke: Counter Strike: Global Offensive. I compete and have helped to organise a lot of things and put people in contact to form teams for many games, but have actively set up and managed CS:GO teams as well as playing it.
SM: What is esports?
AL: Esports is where gamers compete to be the very best. The various categories are made up of various games which include Overwatch, League of Legends and Super Smash Bros.
TS: Expanding on what Anthony said, tournaments are set up by nationally-recognised groups such as the NSE (National Student Esports) and the NFC esports, similar to how FIFA set up football games.
TC: To me, esports at uni are a good fun way to enjoy the games. You can be serious and really try hard, or you can enjoy playing with a good group of people that you can know how to play with a lot better – it doesn’t have to be try-hard. Although esports overall to me is a much larger community, I don’t see esports as a sport itself, but the individual esports as sports. For example, rugby is a sport, comprised of union, league, and sevens, but I think esports doesn’t fit like that, and CS:GO, LoL, Dota2 should all be treated equally as individual esports.
SM: How much has esports grown in the last few years?
AL: When I started setting up a esports group at NTU in 2016, I had to grow it entirely from scratch.
TS: When I started, there was only a League of Legends team. Today there are support systems in place for esports and 18 teams including two League of Legends teams.
TC: Esports at university has grown hugely since I started. The first season of NUEL CS:GO I played had 85 teams in – this winter, 202 eligible teams signed up for NUEL CS:GO, and a whole other tournament organiser has stepped up in NSE with the lead person as Chris “Hench” Henshaw, who is an amazing organiser and has worked in the UK scene for a very long time. NSE is now superior in organisation and quality for CS:GO despite only being in its second year of existence.
SM: When are the competitive seasons at NTU?
TS: Seasons take place on a termly basis (Winter, Spring and Summer) but vary depending on the different leagues and divisions. Long-term seasons are run by the NSC. A varsity season takes place against the University of Nottingham and other universities based on the National Team Scoring System.
TC: Esports seasons at university vary around 7-10 weeks long game dependant, from mid-October to mid-December, and again in spring from late January to late March, there is a summer season which is half the length, and much less played, which tends to change depending on availability.
SM: What are your personal favourite games besides the ones you compete in?
TS: I prefer calmer games such as Cities: Skylines.
AL: I prefer competitive games such as Assetto Corsa.
TC: I really enjoy playing Rocket League and GTA V. I also like iRacing and a couple of puzzle games.
SM: I have heard about fake esports teams at NTU. Is there anything you know about them?
AL: This is only a recent occurrence.
TS: It is often esports leaders not taking responsibilities. There have being teams ran by the team members themselves.
TC: The issue of fake teams is very new, as only three years ago it was the only way to do it. When I started, there was no recognition from the Gamer Society – they actively said it didn’t concern them when asked, leading to the moniker of “NTU Nintendo Society” as branded by a lot of the esports players a couple of years ago. Now they’ve come in to actually caring about esports, a lot has changed: there’s recognition and help in issues which before just all landed on me. It is good to have backing from and know more with the society.
SM: Anything else you want to say?
AL: There have been attempts to form a dedicated e-sports society at NTU.
TS: Delta has over 100 teams from over 100 universities. We also have connection to the Rocket League and former professionals on the esports scene.
TC: Esports at NTU has always been a very separate thing from any society, as just because we are gamers doesn’t mean we share anything with the Smash Bros. meetup fans. Things are, however, starting to get a lot closer with more integration and variety which is good. This does however need to be met by the teams. After so many years of going it alone, it’s great to have the interest and help, but some teams have held the opinion of “Why should I bother, it’s worked fine this way for years”. For me, inclusion is great and my CS team have played a lot with society members and enjoyed it.
To see our competitive gamers in action, check them out at the play-offs at Confetti College from the December 6 – 8. Tickets must be booked in advance from Eventbrite but are free and and open to all NTU students. Games include Super Smash Bros Ultimate, FIFA and Overwatch. Check out the official website here for more information.
By Stuart McComb