[Beyond the Keys] eSports Varsity
eSports? Like varsity?
To be a basketball superstar in a hoop-crazed country, especially in universities or colleges, is something extraordinary. I have often wondered how it must feel like to be a Kiefer Ravena on and off the hard court. The excitement of being called the “Phenom” and the joys of being chased around by girls shrieking their throats out and pulling your arm for photo ops and autographs seem like an otherworldly dream. On the other hand, the pressure that comes with being dubbed “King Tiger” or “Archer” must weigh heavily on Mr. Ravena.
For many students, they look up to these young bloods of Philippine basketball as if they are the epitome of perfection.
Standing at 5’11” gives me a height advantage against foes in hard court. Although a lot of people have commended me for my height, my thin body frame has often been a source of criticism. I have always wanted to be a basketball player — to feel the adrenaline during clutch times, sink the game winning buzzer-beater or just be surrounded by girls — but things went the other way for me.
At a young age, I was exposed to computer games, from Counter-Strike, GTA, Red Alert and Freestyle to Massively Multiplayer Online Role-Playing Games (MMORPG) games like Ragnarok, Flyff, O2jam and MU. Now, I hardly ever play these games but I have found comfort and refuge in Dota 2.
Throughout the course of my gaming life, I’ve received a lot of flak about it. Growing up as an honor student, with a grade to maintain and an image to uphold, I’ve noticed that gaming was often regarded as detrimental. It didn’t help that while I treated my games as my sport of choice, others would regard it with derision.
Chongqing Energy College (Chongqing Municipality, China) offers courses in Defense of the Ancients (DotA).
Following news of a Chinese school accepting students to courses like “Esports and Dota 2” and League of Legends (LoL) and announcing an intercollegiate competition, I am reminded that eSports has the elements of athleticism and competitiveness found in traditional sports.
Investing time and especially money on an emerging field or industry is a big risk. But around the world, a paradigm shift is slowly rising. To many outsiders, it seems that the only thing gamers do is sit around and play when the reality is that those at the top of the game spend rigorous amounts of time and energy in the gym aside from spending hours of game time. It really is a physical endeavor as much as it is a mental one.
In the Philippine eSports context, Mineski has held the National Cyber Collegiate League (NCCL) for the past years. This is a tournament which pits universities and colleges around the country against each other for pride and glory.
The emergence of such competitions open up another door not only for the sake of eSports but for non-physically gifted athletes as well. Having an intercollegiate competition gives hope for people like me to fight for my school pride and showcase that I, in my own means, am an athlete.
It’s only a matter of proper support, not only from the organizers but from the school and students as well, for such events to be successful. I remember when I asked Mineski’s Aldrin “Dunoo” Pangan last year about NCCL and the possible linkage between the organizers and the school, and he said, “It will be great if the schools themselves will create and send teams to NCCL”.
There’s more to the game. It’s not just the same old Mario story; it’s a whole new world after all: a complex learning field for every gamer. Standing at 5’1″1 but with a thin physique may not have brought me to the heights of the basketball scene, but for a brief moment, I’ve felt and experienced being a Kiefer Ravena — in Dota 2.
Who knows, we might fill the Araneta Coliseum or the MOA Arena with chants of “Animo La Salle!”, “One Big Fight!” or “Go USTe!” not during an intense hoop match between these schools, but during a Dota 2 tournament.
#eSportsUAAP?
Subscribe to INQUIRER PLUS to get access to The Philippine Daily Inquirer & other 70+ titles, share up to 5 gadgets, listen to the news, download as early as 4am & share articles on social media. Call 896 6000.
