Gaming and eSports is an area that has grown in popularity. According to Sports Business Journal, eSports enthusiasts have grown from 215.2 million people in 2020 to 261.2 million people as of Apr. 2022.
That popularity can be seen online and on the University of New Haven campus, where there is an eSports and gaming major and the Stable, a classroom dedicated to gaming. Aside from the program, there are clubs also dedicated to the activity.
The Charger eSports Club is an example of that; the club was founded in September 2013, according to Steven Fung, the club president and senior computer science major.
Despite there being the varsity eSports teams and the Gaming Club, the Charger eSports Club does a “pretty good job” at differentiating themselves, said Marcus Gordon, a senior cybersecurity and networks major and the club’s vice president.
Gordon said that the varsity program focuses on training for highly competitive tournaments in the Stable and the Gaming Club focuses on board games and party games such as Mario Kart and Jackbox. “The [Charger eSports Club] tries to help people who are interested in playing these type of competitive games and [either] help them learn together via people showing up to general meetings or, if we get enough interest, bring together teams for a game and hopefully get them to tournaments appropriate for their combined skill levels,” said Gordon.
Fung further discussed those differentiations and said that the club has teams for games such as Omega Strikers and Smash Brothers Ultimate that the varsity teams and Gaming Club do not have.
Marc Marino, a senior music and sound recording major who is also the club’s sergeant at arms and co-captain of the club Smash Brothers Ultimate team, touched on how the club wants to welcome everyone. “Whether you’re new to [eSports] and want to learn more or you just want to support your friends that are into [eSports], we accept and welcome anyone into the world that is [eSports],” said Marino.
Gordon gave a first-hand experience of how welcoming the club was when he first joined. “The club was super welcoming and the club members made it feel like a family,” said Gordon. “Throughout the years of me being here, this sense of family never really left. Even as new people came and old people left, this connection we’ve built together as a club was always consistent and feels like it grows stronger every year.”
The club touched on an event that the club is planning for the beginning of November, but no date is set yet. The event will be held in the Beckerman Recreation Center where they can get a projector and stage for a tournament so New Haven students and alumni can watch.
For now, the events that the club holds are general meetings every Friday at 7 p.m. in Buckman 120. They will also be traveling to Central Connecticut State University this Thursday for a Smash Brothers Ultimate tournament where they will be competing against other schools.
