By: Stephen Haymond

Montevallo is a place that champions diversity, and a willingness to give opportunity to anyone who seeks it out. The Esports team represents this notion perfectly. A level playing field where girls compete right alongside and against boys. A sport where greatness and glory are achieved through a controller rather than based off of physical ability opens the door for so many new people to get the chance to have school paid for. The Esports team is an opportunity and an idea that makes Montevallo that much more special.

Image obtained from the official team twitch channel: montevalloesports

Esports is one of the fastest growing sports in the world. As video games continue to evolve into the single most popular art form on the planet, esports and its various events and athletes are as valuable as ever. Playing video games competitively has never been a more viable pursuit. Esports as an industry is on track to make 1.8 Billion dollars in the year 2022 according to estimations made by Newzoo projects.

 Here at Montevallo, you can receive a scholarship to play for the Esports team. Receiving scholarship funds to play video games competitively. This puts Esports in the same arena as the division 2 athletic teams that people attend Montevallo to play. Though most of the current players are walk-ons, all have the opportunity to receive scholarship money to play for Montevallo.

The money is real in Esports, and it only will continue to grow as the Video Game industry continues to expand. If any parents are reading this with concern for a child unable to pull themselves from a game, there is now an avenue for a financial future for playing video games. There is an opportunity for skilled gamers right here in Montevallo

Video games as an art form have only recently become ingrained in popular culture. With their inception happening very recently compared to similar art forms such as Movies or Television. A small liberal arts institution located in the heart of Alabama taking on an esports team indicates how far video games have come as an art form that used to mainly be thought of as a distraction and only for teenage boys.

Freshman Overwatch player Gavin Lark thinks that the Esports team here at Montevallo is only going to continue to grow. “I do think we’re going to get bigger”. Right now the Esports team consists of four distinct teams based off of the game that they play. Rocket League, Super Smash Bros, League of Legends, and Overwatch. Each team has a team captain, and all of the team’s are overseen by head coach Brendan Beal.

With five years in Esports as a Dota 2 player and a consultant on the pro-amateur circuit, Coach Beal brings real world Esports experience. Having someone of that level of expertise and resume is a fantastic way to bring in interested gamers to a program like Montevallo. A coach of that ilk can become a recruiting force all on their own, and from every indication coach Beal has proven to be the real deal based on the words of his players.

The coach of an Esports team is usually more of a manager than an actual strategy leader in the traditional coaching sense. Due to the nature of Esports being based on separate video games, expertise in each game would be near impossible. Team captains lead the team in strategy and the coach leads all the team in workouts to help keep them in physical shape, as well as giving pointers and tips to the players throughout practices and games.

The Overwatch team practiced bi-weekly, on Tuesday and Thursday nights, and physical team workouts performed weekly. With games always being on saturdays. Due to the nature of the world, it has been possible to compete in the matches remotely. A sport that does not require your in person attendance is wholly unique.

Like any other sport there are the starters and the bench players. The Overwatch team has an A and a B team. “The A team mostly played, but there was a bunch of swap outs.” says Lark of how the Overwatch team operates. All of the substitutions and roster decisions are made by the team captain and assistant team captain. Another unique trait of Esports, roster and strategy decisions are almost entirely determined by the players themselves and not by the coach.

According to Lark, the Overwatch roster is split almost evenly between girls and boys. The days of video games being strictly for boys are long gone. Esports is also the only sport on campus where boys and girls compete directly with and against each other. A level playing field regardless of gender is a unique and welcome difference compared to other sports on campus.

The Esports team does not play the local teams you would imagine them playing compared to other sports. They compete in what is called the Peach Belt Conference. “Our last game was against Western Missouri,” says Lark. Esports competitive structure and opponents are more concerned with who they can play rather than where they play. A luxury when your art form operates online.

The Esports team practices in the media room located in Farmer Hall, and the games change from year to year. So the four sports that are currently being practiced here this year will not be the same next year. Giving more students the opportunity to come and play for the school.

The more one learns about the Montevallo Esports team the more it comes into focus as just another sport. They practice like any other sport, with both official team practices and individual workouts. They wear jerseys when they compete, they receive scholarship money to come and play here. While there are unique aspects to a sport that is won with a controller rather than your arms or legs, where it counts Esports is the same. 

The Spirit of Montevallo lies in its diversity and commitment to creating new opportunities for students that might not be able to afford a similar opportunity elsewhere. The introduction and continued growth of the Esports team is a perfect example of this spirit.

Video games have not always been put into the most positive light for a multitude of reasons. Hopefully the introduction of Esports into College Athletics can help make gaming a more realistic pursuit for kids around the country. Here at Montevallo the door is wide open for any prospective college student with gaming expertise. If interested, fill out the recruiting interest form.