Elizabethtown College will hold the Landmark Conference Esports championship Friday, March 29, 2019. The championship will take the top four teams from the current division and have them compete in a tournament, with the winning team and the runner-up eligible to play at the national championship tournament in April.

In addition to Etown, Juniata College, Goucher College, Moravian College, Catholic University and Drew University also sponsor their own Esports teams for the 2019 season.

Competing teams will face off in Riot Games’ “League of Legends” round-robin matches during the season in January and February, leading up to the championship in March. Etown had their first match Monday, Feb. 4 to kick off the team’s season.

Junior Derek Bosworth is one of the Esports co-captains, and he was excited to hear the announcement that Etown will host the Landmark Conference championship.

“At the time of the announcement, I was pretty excited that we were hosting,” Bosworth said in an email interview. “Hopefully, this will raise interest in the Esports team for our school…The conference is also probably going to be adding new games next year, and we absolutely need more players.”

Assistant Men’s and Women’s Volleyball Coach Matt Hamilton, who is the coach for the new Esports team, was just as excited that the championship will be held at Etown.

“I think it gives our players even more motivation to practice and compete at a high level so that they can be part of a championship match held at their own college,” Hamilton said in an email interview.

He also said that this opportunity would allow for more students on campus, and for prospective students off campus, to learn more about Esports at Etown.

Etown currently has 17 players on its Esports team. With the creation of an Esports team, Etown joins a rising trend across the country in the expansion and development of competitive collegiate gaming.

For “League of Legends” alone, colleges across North America have approximately 500 student-led clubs, 300 competitive teams and 70 varsity teams, according to the Landmark Conference’s official website.

The National Association of Collegiate Esports (NACE) reports that over 125 college institutions are members of the NACE, bolstering over 2,800 student athletes. This shows a rapid growth from the NACE’s official conception July 28, 2016, in which the NACE reported that only seven colleges and institutions had varsity esports. Now, the number is at over 100 institutions, with 90 percent belonging to the NACE.

The most popular games that NACE members play include “League of Legends,” “Overwatch,” “Hearthstone,” “Rocket League,” “Paladins,” “Counter Strike” and “SMITE. “

Currently, Etown offers “League of Legends” in its competitive gaming roster, but that selection is expected to grow over time.

“Etown will definitely be getting more games, but it is ultimately up to the conference to determine which games will be played next year,” Bosworth said. “I really hope they decide to add ‘Rocket League’ because I know there is already a lot of interest in the game at Etown.”

“I see the Esports community on-campus continuing to grow to include any student who is passionate about video games,” Hamilton said. “I certainly hope that Elizabethtown and other Landmark institutions will create more teams for different games to allow more students to engage in this exciting opportunity.”

With the growth of Esports and competitive gaming, it begs the question of whether playing video games should be considered a sport like any other. The new Overwatch League (OWL) all-access pass for fans of the professional Esports competition is not unlike the NFL RedZone in that it’s a sporting league package which can improve the spectating experience.

The OWL all-access pass allows viewers to customize their viewing experience and select which players’ perspectives they wish to see from, and it also includes other deals and in-game skins for those who purchase it.

Expansions like these show Esports growing as an industry much like any other sport. According to Bosworth, the similarities don’t stop there.

“Esports is very similar to every sports team on-campus where our members are becoming more like a family as we play together,” Bosworth said.

As the season starts for 2019, the Etown team hopes it can qualify for the conference held at its home field.

“I really hope to make it to the finals as a team, win or lose,” Bosworth said.

“Obviously, the team really wants to make the conference playoffs and play well enough to make the conference championship considering it will be held at Elizabethtown,” Hamilton said.