Lakers esports kicks off its first season

In 2018, 10,000 fans crowded into the Wintrust Arena to watch their favorite athletes compete. The audience, which topped 262,000 viewers online, didn’t come to watch basketball. They came for the Intel Extreme Masters, an international esports tournament, and Robert Morris University players were competing in a showcase event.

Esports, or video game competitions, have exploded in popularity in recent years. After the integration with Robert Morris in 2020, 27 student-athletes kicked off their first competition as Roosevelt Lakers this season.

Esports athlete playing Super Smash Bros.

What makes esports a sport?

In many ways, esports players are just like the other varsity athletes who compete for the Roosevelt Lakers. Players sign letters of intent, wear uniforms and show up for practice. It requires quick reaction times, coordination and staying calm under pressure.

Pinaci compares esports to chess, because “it’s a very knowledge-based pattern-recognition game.” To become successful, players need persistence and critical thinking that eventually turns into muscle memory.

He added that communication, honed as players communicate with their teammates, is another important skill these student-athletes can one day bring to the workplace.

The future of esports

Pinaci is excited to develop the collegiate scene from a tournament and organizational standpoint. As a frontrunner in a host city, the Roosevelt esports program makes for an attractive destination for aspiring student-athletes. The Illinois High School Esports Association, home to many talented high school students, competes in the same games that Roosevelt offers.

And as an established program, Roosevelt has “worked out a lot of the early bugs” when that newer programs still face when it comes to team structure and a facility.

Several alumni of the Robert Morris program have since gone pro, mostly in League of Legends. But Pinaci hopes that the program will also create a path for students interested in internships and other careers in the booming esports industry.

Esports is set to surpass $1.5 billion in revenues by 2023, according to Business Insider Intelligence, and Chicago is a hotbed of activity for the community.

One real estate developer hopes to break ground on a $30 million esports arena that would be a 20-minute bus ride from campus. Many other gaming, esports and tech startups call Chicago home as well. After graduation, students could go on to roles as social media managers, graphic designers, scriptwriters, broadcasters, online community managers and tournament organizers.

And of course, many gamers just play for fun. The team’s first captain in Rocket League — a game where players drive rocket-powered cars to hit a large soccer ball through their opponent’s goal — now works as a certified public accountant.

Staying connected

The pandemic has prevented the team from gathering together in person for practice and competitions. At the old State Street campus, the Robert Morris team had a decked-out competition space with gaming chairs and edgy wall decals. Players now compete together from their gaming rigs at home.

While the pandemic has been disruptive for smaller programs without access to their setup, the Roosevelt players have managed to weather the isolation. The Lakers belong to the Midwest Esports Conference, an organization they helped found with several other host schools, which gives them more control over tournaments and competitions.

The team has managed to stay connected and build team chemistry over Discord, a text and voice and chat platform. As coach, Pinaci can adjust everyone’s voice levels and have them share their screens, toggling between five different points of view. They block out two or three hours for practice, stay after for events on the community server, and check in a couple of times a week.

And when the Lakers make their debut at in-person tournaments, they’ll do it with a vengeance.