By Alex Kurts, Sports Editor
For the past three weeks, Susquehanna has been competing in the inaugural “League of Legends” season for the Landmark Conference. Now the school and the team is presented with a new opportunity: a local tournament in the state capital.
Harrisburg University, who currently is ranked fourth in the country in “League of Legends,” will be hosting the PA Cup. A total of 16 teams from across the state are slated to compete in the tournament. Susquehanna is currently listed as one of the 16 possible teams
The announcement of the tournament was pair alongside the passing of House Resolution 66 that declared that this month would be considered “Esports Month” in the state.
“I’m excited to have a possible opportunity to play against schools who are at such a high level,” starting mid laner Brian Turner said. “Opportunities like this do not come along often and it would be a great learning experience for the players and the club going forward.”
Alongside “League of Legends” being played at the tournament, “Overwatch” and “Hearthstone” will be played as well. In order for the River Hawks to compete in the tournament, the school would have to put together teams in the other two esports to compete alongside their currently existing “League of Legends” team.
“I never thought that this region would be one of the ones on the forefront of esports,” Harrisburg University Esports Program Director Chad Smeltz said during an interview with Fox 43. “So to have an event like HUE festival, to have an event like PA Cup, and to have it here and to see everyone standing here in different esports is really surreal and it’s something that I’m very proud of.”
The announcement was brought to attention during the League Club meeting on Wednesday by Riston, a senior on campus, who proposed bringing the idea forward to Student Government Association for possible funding, as well as a partnership with the club to try and assemble a team for the other two esports titles.
“This shows that esports are growing across the country,” Riston said. “Competition allows players to show off their skills, and shows the people that still believe that it is ‘just video games’ that esports are here to stay.
Susquehanna started competing against other schools through their collegiate club since it was founded in 2015, and currently is a third of the way through the Landmark Conference regular season. The team’s current record is 0–2 after losses to Goucher and Drew.
“We’ve started slow and have a lot of new players compared to most teams out there,” Turner said. “It’s still a learning experience for most of us on the team.”
However, Susquehanna has never fielded either an “Overwatch” or “Hearthstone” team before. The proposal however, if agreed upon, could usher in a new era in esports for the university, especially being so close to one of the premiere esports programs in the country in Harrisburg.
If Susquehanna was going to compete at the tournament, it could put some national recognition on the institution, especially with the massive industry growth that has occurred in Harrisburg in the past year.
On top of Harrisburg University’s rise to the top ranks of collegiate “League of Legends,” a group of local investors in the area announced the founding of Susquehanna Esports, a company based in Harrisburg to highlight the recent efforts of making the area into a nationally-recognized esports hub.
All the recent expansions and the collegiate scene growing larger every year, going to this tournament is crucial if Susquehanna wants to put its mark on esports and one of the fastest growing industries in the world.
With all eyes on Pennsylvania esports at the end of March, the time to dive in head first is now. Esports are here to stay, and they will stay for a long time
