In December it was announced that Charger eSports is going to be considered a club sport starting in January 2018. The club was started by club president Charles Kmiec in 2013.

“The goal of the club was to create a fun and competitive environment for campus gamers to show off their skills and make new friends,” said Kmiec.

eSports started with seven students and one professor who all shared a passion for competitive gaming. As the years went on, the club grew into what it is today. The club went for gold status in spring of 2016 and achieved it. In 2017 the goal of the club was to become a club sport, and sure enough they achieved it. With the success of eSports across the nation, and around the world, it is no surprise that the club was able to come up from their humble beginnings and climb up the ranks to becoming a full- time club sport. Even though eSports has taken the world by storm, there are still some people that doubt its legitimacy.       

“eSports as a sport at the university or as anywhere else for that matter, has been a controversial topic with sides against it and sides for it. What we do as a club is promote and show everyone that it is a sport with comparisons to relevant articles and videos. We feel that playing an e-sport is the same as someone watching their favorite sport on tv or playing it in real life. The way we see it is that it is a sport with team-based skill and competition. The players we have practice four to five nights a week just as any other athlete would. We have always promoted the club as a sport regardless of what our status is. We always take events and competitions seriously. Nevertheless, we are boasting 100 members and we continue to grow each year,” said Kmiec.  

With its status of being a recognized club sport, Charger eSports will play against most of the eSports university clubs in America and Canada. They will also compete in tournaments such as League of Legends, Heroes of the Storm, Overwatch, and Hearthstone.

The members of the club are really excited about this new opportunity to expand and unleash their skills.

“I think becoming a sport has given us a good opportunity to broaden our horizon on who we play, and I feel it is going to bring us better competition” said club member Will Alberti. “We’re finally going to be able to show other schools that we’re a force to be reckoned with.”