Harmony 8th grader finishes second in esports tournament

In November, both the TAMIU varsity and JV Call of Duty teams faced off against other collegiate teams in the NACD Starleague 2021-22 Call of Duty Playoffs. The JV team placed second and varsity placed fourth in their respective hard-fought tournaments. And earlier in the years, Ivan Larumbe won the Rec Division NIRSA Rocket League 1v1 tournament.

With esports still a fledgling sport league, nurturing the local talent and providing opportunities to benefit from what they enjoy will result in a multitude of boons for students. The Middle School Esport League states that getting students involved in esports early helps them develop key skills that they can take with them into high school, college, and beyond.

“We are very proud of Benjamin for using creativity, problem solving and excellent sportsmanship to obtain this high ranking,” said Pedro Alaniz, Harmony’s esports Club Co-Sponsor.

Gonzalez was joined by his teammates as they competed in a Minecraft tournament. The Middle School esports League hosts several games to compete in including Rocket League, Pokémon Unite, Minecraft, Knockout City and Chess.

Gonzalez said that currently he only competes in Minecraft, but he enjoys games like Roadblock, Terraria and Injustice 2, among others. Club members meet regularly through both PC and the Nintendo Switch and practice before their respective tournaments.

With registrations opening on Jan. 10 for the MSEL Spring Major 2022, there will be time to practice and bolster team play. According to the MSEL, it will feature a full 12 weeks of competition, including a two-week preseason, eight weeks of regular season, and two weeks of playoffs and finals.

Regardless of tournament, students often feel that rush amid competition.

“I was very excited; I was shaking and I could feel the adrenaline. I was screaming as I was on the discord call with my coaches and friends,” Gonzalez said. “I had to put my survival skills to use, my strategic planning and everything else I have learned while gaming.”

Like any other sport, the urge to win and the hard work of reaching such lengths within a tournament often results in a swelling of pride. Gonzalez said his whole family joined in to watch him compete and celebrate his accomplishment.

Furthermore, it may also help students take leaps they may not have taken before.

“I am not the type of person to join clubs, but since I enjoy video games, I thought it would be fun to play games with other people. I didn’t even know there would be tournaments. I just assumed we’d game for a little bit and that was it,” Gonzalez said.

“So when I found out that tournaments were available, I was super excited that I would be able to compete with other people for a bigger purpose. Playing is fun, winning a game is fun but winning a tournament is the best.”

And, while still unsure of what career path he may consider, he does plan on becoming a YouTuber and sharing his content online.

Local esports have received a fair bit of support, specifically by TAMIU. University organizers said that in addition to promoting esports on campus, they also advocate for other local schools to join in with their own teams.

Ivan Cano, Recreational Sports Specialist, said one of the responsibilities of a university involved in NACE is to promote esports at the high school level and that there has been a lot of excitement for that possibility.

“They are student-athletes, so that’s the route that we want to take it and get to,” TAMIU Recreational Sports Director Roberto Garza said. “By hopefully being better known because we were ranked and won tournaments, those create opportunities for that type of excitement that is generated because of the success of the program. People want to buy into it.”

cocampo@lmtonline.com