The new Creighton Esports Lounge opened last winter and has been a popular location ever since. The Esports Lounge is a spot for gamers to gather and play their favorite games during open rec hours, or they can join one of the esports teams.
During open rec hours, anyone came come and play any game that is offered on popular gaming platforms, like Steam. The Esports Lounge provides people with the option of playing games they love with people at Creighton or with friends elsewhere.
This is Creighton’s first year competing in the D1 spotlight for esports in the Big East tournaments. This semester Creighton has teams in League of Legends, Super Smash Bros, Overwatch, Valorant and Fortnite. Anyone can join a team.
Teams are mainly composed of players that played in high school and are interested in representing their school at the collegiate level. The league that many Creighton teams play for is new; it started about two years ago.
Many of the players on most of the esports teams did not know each other before going into the season. However, players on the Super Smash Bros team have played against each other in previous tournaments. This has made the esports team a great option for people to connect over a shared interest.
Isabel Balleza, a junior in the College of Nursing, manages the esports teams and connects prospective players to each other. She manages all of the organizational aspects of the competitive side of esports.
“It’s a community that is really enthusiastic about what they do, and you can kind of connect from anywhere,” Balleza said.
The Overwatch team is very promising this season. The Valorant team was one game away from the playoffs.
Esports has provided many students with an opportunity to meet people with similar interests. The Overwatch team gets dinner after every game and hangs out outside of esports as well.
Many students like Heider College of Business freshman Jack Woodward visit the Esports Lounge a couple times a week. Students will often visit with a group of friends to play their favorite games.
“A lot of people, like my friends–I don’t think they knew what was down here, but now that they’ve been, I think they think it’s pretty awesome,” Woodward said.
Outside of competitive esports and open rec hours, the Esports Lounge also hosts its own events. Previously, the Esports Lounge hosted an event where people could come to play the Roblox game, Dress to Impress.
Decisions about what events to hold are based on student interest. The esports club offers prizes for many of the events, including a pink plastic tiara. They also do off-campus events where the esports club provides transportation and pays for members’ entry. In the lounge, esports hosts trading card events as well. Events like these are communicated through discord.
Aidan O’Malley, a senior in the Heider College of Business, works at the front desk of the Esports Lounge.
“Sometimes people come in trading cards or showing off cards. It’s been a good space for a crowd of gamers that are often underrepresented at a university like this,” O’Malley said.