Esports is on the rise and becoming more and more mainstream as the decade progresses. From gamers in basements to gamers on ESPN, the gaming community has grown significantly over the years, and with this growth, Colorado Mesa University has achieved its own portion of the Esports phenomenon: the Esports club.

The club has been around for a little bit but has made huge strides over the past year to become more accommodating and enjoyable for its members. Last year it was purely a “bring your own console/computer” program, this year they have finally nailed down a permanent location where the members will be able to play on provided computers.

“As of last week, we got an email saying that we can start to download League of Legends on a school computer,” president Robert Long said. “Confluence Hall 305 is what we are trying to get.”

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Working towards a permanent place to play games and spend time with the club is a huge step forward and Long is saving their first meeting until they get a room secured so that it can be a special induction into the new year.

Paired with the new location, the club is moving towards a more tournament-centered formula. Playing more accessible games than just eSports games will be moved more towards the agenda.

“We are going to try to host more tournaments,” Long said. “We will have some Fortnite and Hearthstone tournaments, listen to what the campus wants. But at the same time, if we are going to bring eSports to the campus, we will also show you what eSports is from time to time.”

The club isn’t only for eSports, a concept that Long parades happily. Rather than scouting out the best of the best for the club, the eSports club welcomes anyone that likes video games to join. Old or young, student or teacher, male or female. Everyone is encouraged to stop by to have some fun enjoying their passion. This ideology is apparent in all aspects of the club and shows in the club’s advisor, Elaine Venter.

“All of the members are fantastic, they are all really nice and all about community,” Venter said. “We all share our love of video games, whether it is eSports or not. If you just want to play casually, cool we will find a place for you. If you want to do something more on the team, then we can find a spot for you.”

This gaming community that the club is creating on campus is specifically aimed towards engagement from a wide arrangement of students. The club is open to anyone that enjoys video games and with the more widespread acceptance of video games, the club has more potential members than ever. Venter even wants to set up a student versus faculty tournament to occur in the future as a fun event to bring the campus closer together.

The Esports club, while having a competitive team that performs and plays against other schools, is an engine to spread the gaming community and allow gamers at CMU to find a home while at college. The eSports club is reachable through their OrgSync, as well as Instagram or Twitter.