Competitive video gaming, also known as electronic sports, or eSports, has grown in popularity in the past few years. Here at the UA, the eSports club team has taken to high ranks in multiple tournaments, beating out Arizona State University in a tournament last year.

The UA has club teams for most of major eSporting games including League of Legends, Defense of the Ancients 2, StarCraft II and many others.

These teams compete in two leagues: the Collegiate Star League and the National Collegiate e-sports Association. Through these leagues, the UA is paired with teams and universities across the country to compete.

President Ben Bossler is a chemical engineering senior who plays on the StarCraft II team. Bossler described the way the competitions go and how members of the club team play.

“In a match your team plays five one-versus-one games on different maps and you have to coordinate which person plays best with certain characters on certain maps,” Bossler said.

Team member Kevin Buchmiller, a freshman studying pre-business and math, is on the counter-strike team in both the Collegiate Star League and the National Collegiate e-sports Association.

He didn’t get into the competitive gaming world from the very start, however. “It took me about three years to gain the confidence to play competitively,” Buchmiller said.

While the idea of eSports has been around internationally for several years, it only gained traction in the U.S within the past five years.

“It really gained popularity in the U.S. with Twitch.tv, which allowed people to stream matches on their computers,” Bossler said.

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