FEATURE

Let the games begin, WCC Esports is leveling up

Carlos Alacron (left) and Areej Imran enjoying a fun game on the PS5 in the lobby outside the Student Center. Paula Farmer | Washtenaw Voice.

By RJ Hunt
Editor

Esports started at WCC right before the pandemic. Now with more students on campus, Esports is starting to make its impact known. If you’re ever in the Student Center on campus, chances are you have seen students playing games in the lobby. “(Esports) is a great way to interact with each other and get to know people on campus that they would not have known before,” said Matt Lucas, manager for WCC sports. With society adapting to the effects of the pandemic, Lucas is happy to see others socialize with each other again.

For those interested in joining WCC’s Esports club team, the group will host recruitment days on Sept. 13 and 14, 11 a.m.-2 p.m. on the first floor of the Student Center.

To join the Esports club team, students have to have a 2.0 grade-point average or higher and taking at least 3 credit hours for the semester. For any new students, your GPA isn’t counted until you have completed one semester at WCC, but regardless you still need to be taking at least 3 credit hours. Participants are asked to complete a waiver in order to join. The waiver allows participants to recommend games for the Esports team. If you don’t have any experience with games, you can still try out for the team. “It can be from ‘I really want to try out’ to ‘I’m ranked.’ It can be a wide range,” Lucas said.

In the past, Esports has played games such as Rocket League, Smash Bros, Fortnite, Apex, and Valorant. The games will continue to be played, but Esports will have some new features this year. There will be PS5 and Xbox Series X consoles, along with gaming PCs that will be brought in. Eventually there will be an Esports arena for gamers to play in. “We have a space picked, the goal is to have it open in the winter semester,” Lucas said.

During the recruitment days, students are welcomed to come by and gain more information about what’s going on with Esports. The recruitment days are open to all WCC students. There will be consoles set up for students to play games for a test run. There’s no fee, just come to the table and ask to play.

“We have had more students ask about Esports, especially with more students back on campus,” Lucas said. “I can’t wait to see where the program goes from here.”