MSU Texas Esports has enjoyed successful season
MSU Texas Esports has enjoyed an exciting and successful second season, making the playoffs in the NACE Starleague Open Premier League. The Valorant team has made playoffs in the Fall Collegiate Valorant League’s South division.
The players are energized about the progress they've seen this season, including a win in a 5-on-5 crew battle against Texas Tech, and recently they enjoyed a chance to host a gaming convention in the Clark Student Center.
Below is a brief profile of four varsity team members of MSU Texas Esports:
Breckin Hume
Sophomore, computer science major
Varsity Smash Team Member
Character: Joker Main
Season highlights: Defeating some top players from Abilene at heist events, placing top 4 at local tournaments.
Growth as gamer in 2022: The skill we’ve developed to keep improving was taking and responding to criticism and applying it to our gameplay opposed to focusing on our personal views of our gameplay.
What makes competitive gaming different? The main difference between casual and competitive gaming is the sense of being a team in a competitive sense. We all are trying to improve each other along with the casual sense of “everyone’s trying to have a good time.”
Pitch for MSU Texas Esports: I would say to newcomers: don’t be intimidated by skill gaps and levels. We aren’t scary people and that we would love to play with anyone of any skill level. We also strive to make everyone feel included and involved.
Impressions of Esports lounge? Yes, working together in the lounge, on top of playing multiple different games together like Overwatch, has definitely built up a sense of camaraderie and has deepened the connection and friendship we share, as cheesy as it sounds.
Nathan Ampil
Junior, Psychology Major
Varsity Smash Team Member, Team Captain
Character: Roy
Season highlights: The tech crew battle was fun.
Growth as gamer in 2022: Everyone is now practicing with goals and meaning, and that’s made everyone get way better than last year.
What makes competitive gaming different? I’ve played a lot of solo games and team games solo, and being on a team for solo games is super interesting (because) we just keep bouncing off of each other whenever we improve. And we just continue to get better!
Pitch for MSU Texas Esports: Everyone in every section of MSU Esports is incredibly nice and accepting, and while we do always have fun, we do have the drive to constantly improve and perform better.
Impressions of Esports lounge? Just like a physical sports team uses a field, the Esports lounge is that equivalent for us, and being able to be in a space like that does help at least me get into the mindset of improving. Being able to host big events makes me feel like what I’m doing is actually supported by the school which feels really great.
Joseph Hernandez
Freshman, biology major
Varsity Team
Character: Peach
Season highlights: My two most exciting matches this season are from facing off against Solis and Garp, two top competitors from Oklahoma.
Growth as gamers in 2022: The team’s overall understanding of the game has improved. I believe their desire to learn new concepts both in and outside of the game will result in continued improvement.
Pitch for MSU Texas Esports: To the competitive gamers thinking about going to college, I’ll say that a lot of my communication skills, relationships, and memories so far have derived from being a part of MSU Texas.
Paul Brown
Sophomore, computer science major
Varsity Team
Character: Inkling
Season highlights: Three tournament finishes in the top eight. Some of my best wins consist of beating Noir (a fellow teammate), Streams (who won the Arcadian), beating Knaught (one of our coaches) and doing well in our crew battle versus Texas Tech University.
Growth as gamers in 2022: Our team has developed the ability to take criticisms and use them to improve our individual skills, which helps the team as a whole. We also grind and put a lot of practice into the game. I have gained a good work ethic to achieve my goals in and outside of gaming.
What makes competitive gaming different? The competitive gaming experience is very exciting. It differs from normal games because you have to work at it. There is the fun part where you play the game then there’s the part where you put in effort to improve and win at the game. Being on a team is also different from casual gaming because you have to help your teammates and focus on general improvements that the entire team can understand and obtain.
Pitch for MSU Texas Esports: Keep a good balance of gaming and not gaming (keep a good mental approach), play your game a lot even if just for fun, learn the ability to take criticisms and use them to your advantage if the shoe fits.
Impressions of Esports lounge? The Esports Lounge has helped the team in a variety of ways. Firstly, it gave us an area so we are able to play together all at once. Our previous spot never had enough gaming setups, so it usually took a lot for everyone to play. It also provided a spot for our gaming community as a whole. We are able to play casually to strengthen our bond as a team and grind to improve our overall skills at our respective games. Being able to hold this event means we get to spread our love for gaming. We get to expand the joys of gaming and maybe get more people to be a part of our community. We also get to obtain experience from other players to better our own team and skills.