ETSU is home to many sports including golf, volleyball, baseball and triathlon, to name a few, but what some people might not know is that a new type of sport rising through the ranks at ETSU — Esports.
Esports is best described as playing video games at a competitive level. One of the Esports teams on campus is the Overwatch team, who specialize in the multiplayer game “Overwatch”. They are set to begin their season on Sept. 28.
Senior Amanda Greenberg is the Overwatch team captain for this season.
“I’ve been playing games for basically ever, even since I was a little kid,” Greenberg said. “I originally started playing ‘Overwatch’ when it first came out in 2016. However, I only played it off and on between all of my other games until more recently to get ready for the season.”
Within video games, players use their own tactics to help themselves or their teammates to win.
“In Overwatch, I play support and in other games I typically stick to a very ranged sort of style where I can stay in the back-line and help my allies from there,” said Greenberg.
“In Overwatch, being able to position behind and staying far in the back can make it harder to reach me, so I can stay alive for longer and I can heal my teammates more,” Greenberg continued.
Esports have been taking the nation by storm, and with the current situation of the world now, it is not a shocker why.
“One very strong advantage right now with Esports is that you don’t have to be there in person, so it’s a really nice thing to be in for this pandemic,” said Greenberg.
Being able to communicate with your team is important in any sport, especially one that takes place online where you may not be in the same room as each other.
“We’ve been playing together for the most part for several months now,” said Greenberg. “We have great chemistry by now, we all work really well together.”
The Esports team will be broadcasting their games on Twitch, twitch.tv/etsuesports, starting Sept. 28, and they will host live events in the cave for a limited number of people to check out the team’s tournaments.
