A new esports team will be coming to Warren Central soon, focused on competitive gaming rather than traditional athletics. As it is a sports team and not a club, there will be try-outs held for each individual game, alongside practices for each respective game.
Members will be held to the same standards as any member of an athletic team at Warren, according to Andrew Matchett, a broadcasting teacher at Warren who will act as one of the team sponsors.
“There will be practices and mandatory streams to make sure that we are competing and not just playing the game,” Matchett said.
The new team will focus on a variety of games rather than just one. The games they might plan to play, depending on interest, include the following: Rocket League, Fortnite, League of Legends, Chess, Tetris, Marvel Rivals, Valorant, Apex Legends and Super Smash Bros.
While this competitive esports team is new to current Warren students, it is not new to the school. Throughout the school's history, about 10 years ago, there was a competitive gaming team which current Spanish teacher Christian Littell participated in as a student, although it was only dedicated to the at the time wildly popular and competitive game League of Legends.
“I am doing this because I was a part of the League of Legends team here back in 2014-2015 and at IU,” Littell said. “I also helped coach and do analysis of the IU League of Legends program. I started and ran the Discord here at the school for a time, but that no longer exists.”
The League of Legends group eventually became an esports club, which would ultimately be disbanded. Although the team was disbanded, Littell made the decision to sponsor the resurgence of this team as a way to help students find others who have the same gaming interests.
“I think playing esports is a great way to connect with other people who have similar interests as you and build that competitive spirit that makes coming to school all the more enjoyable,” Littell said.
All of this will lead up to a plan to compete in the first M.I.C. esports tournament next semester. According to another team sponsor, Director of the Performing Arts Center Eric Matters, the resurgence of the group is because of new external support for esports as a whole.
“Previously, there were no other teams for us to compete against,” Eric Matters said. “Now every school in the M.I.C. has an esports team. There are also now colleges and universities with esports teams. Some, such as Butler, offer scholarships to attend college while playing eSports for them.”
Currently, the team sponsors have stated that they have no official day set for their first meeting. According to Matchett, though, things will take off more in the spring semester when they have a dedicated space in the MediaPlex for the group.
“We are looking to get a feel for what students want to play before we have our first meeting,” Matchett said. “Look out for more info on the Warren Now announcements and possibly an information table outside of the east cafe.”
There will also be an email account for the program where students can reach out with interest.
“I hope the students get a renewed sense of pride i n their school and the chance to show off a skill-set that would otherwise not see the lime-light,” Matters said. “I am excited for this new chapter in our school's competitive history. I think we have a great opportunity to shine a light on some truly talented students.