Q&A with Senior Justin Scott, a member of eSports

Q: How did you get involved with the Eagle Esports team?

A: I joined Eagle Esports when I heard about it from my friend who said he was interested in doing stuff for them. He eventually dropped out, but after talking with Mr. Knold, the club advisor, I joined in. I am the producer of all the media content we create. I also compete in NBA 2k. 

Q: What does being the Eagle Esports producer entail?

A: When we do our live streams of our games on Twitch I moderate the chat, and then when the stream is done, I go in and I take highlights from the stream, make clips of them, and make compilations of those clips. We want to do highlight shows with people commentating, and we eventually want to have announcers as well on the streams.

Q: What games has the team been playing?

A: As I said, I’m competing in NBA 2k right now. The preseason started last Friday [February 4th, 2022]. Last semester we had our Rocket League Varsity team make it to the final 4 in the league we were in. We’ve switched leagues this semester.  The new league has a lot more games and a lot more competitions, so now we have three different Rocket League teams: Varsity A, Varsity B, and Junior Varsity. We’ve incorporated chess by collaborating with the chess club. They compete in online chess. We might have a team ready for Overwatch soon, but we don’t know. We have the ability for Madden and other games; we just have to have an interest in them. 

Q: How have you seen the club grow since you’ve joined?

A: It’s been pretty wild. There were only 6 of us at the start of the year, and then we started our  promotion. We have posters around the school with QR codes and we use Discord so we can communicate because it’s great for voice chats, especially in-game. We have around 50 members and around 20 currently competing. 

Q: What was the biggest challenge you faced this year in Esports?

A: The biggest challenge was getting it up and running and then having games people were interested in. Initially we were planning to have both Rocket League and League of Legends last semester. We had an interest in League of Legends but we couldn’t find players to play competitively. We stuck to just Rocket League and it worked out well. It was really nice, especially with the success that we had. We had huge backing from the administration, especially from Dr. Kurth. We now have a budget and we were able to adhere funds for gaming computers and monitors. We have plans for expansion and more equipment. It’s nice to see the support from the administration grow over time. 

Q: What is one of your favorite memory of the team?

A: The final 4 time was really exciting. We didn’t expect to be there the first season. It was kinda disappointing that we didn’t win, but it was still really fun and we got to see everyone engaged. During games, our team members would go out to Eagle Pointe and watch our livestreams on the TVs out there. There’s still a lot of big things to come. The athletics department wants to hold an in-person event in the fieldhouse. 

Q: What are the pros and cons of competitive gaming?

A: It’s not letting the pressure get to you. We have many of the same issues as sports. It may not be physically active, but it’s very mentally active. When something bad happens in game, you don’t want to let it get to you but it does. So you have to have that same mentality as a football player or a basketball player where you don’t let the things that could get you down get you down.

Q: What about team makes it the Eagle Esports team?

A: The friendship aspect of the club is what makes it what it is. The team has been playing together for 6-8 months now. I watched them the other day playing their second match of the semester and you could tell right off the bat how much chemistry that they had and how much fun they were having. They’re not just getting along for the sake of the team, they’re actual friends and they’re committed to it. They’re having fun while staying semi-serious. 

Q: What does the future look like for the team?

A: The future looks bright. We’ve been getting funding and we have all this room to grow. Like I said before we have the possibility of an in-person event later this year. The players also have scholarship opportunities. We had a scout come out last semester from Mizzou. Not only are there opportunities for the club itself, but futures for the players involved because they can take their experience to the next level. Esports has been growing for the past 20 some years due to PC and console gaming’s integration into mainstream media.