Esports Explode at Xaverian

The world changed at the turn of the century when video games like The Sims, Counter Strike, and Doom came around. From then to now, the world of gaming has been revolutionized into one of the most lucrative, fastest growing industries in the world. For just over two decades, Generation Z has ignited that change. Games like Minecraft, Fortnite, Call of Duty, and League of Legends are just some that have dominated the Esports scene. In fact, Minecraft has been at the top of the video gaming mountain for nearly a decade and it doesn’t seem to be letting up anytime soon. Microsoft, and subsequently XBOX, have sold more copies of Minecraft than Ford has sold F-150s, Toyota has sold Corollas, Volkswagen has sold Golfs, and Honda has sold Civics…worldwide…combined.

Today, video games can and often do encompass all aspects of real life; they’re just formatted down into a 2-D visualization. But many of these games can feel nearly as real as the physical life we live. Take professional car racing for example. The world’s top drivers turn to racing simulators, one form of competitive Esports, to get a feel for upcoming races and tracks. Such simulations feel so realistic that they can transfer the results of the virtual race to the real one, with many of them seeing significant improvements in the real world because of simulator practice. 

In July of 2019, Fortnite was climbing to its peak. At the time, the game had over 250 million players and now has over 350,000,000 players worldwide. Such widespread popularity allowed for the Fortnite World Cup. This was an invite-only tournament comprising the world’s top Fortnite players–young and old, from all corners of the globe–meeting in New York City to compete for a grand prize of $3,000,000. The stakes have never been higher and the audience has never been greater. On YouTube and Twitch (the leading video game streaming platform) on the final day of the tournament alone, over 2.3 million concurrent viewers were reported. These few hours took the crown as the most-watched competitive gaming event of all time, and that doesn’t count other platforms or non-live viewership. That Sunday ended with 16-year-old Kyle Giersdorf, known online as “Bugha,” as the crowned winner of the grand prize and the coveted title.

Now imagine you’re Bugha’s age, you see him reaching Esports nirvana, and video games are your mojo. Let’s also imagine that your high school is starting an Esports club, and a soon to be team. Wouldn’t you join? Think of it this way: sports are to an athlete as Esports are to a video game lover. Enter Xaverian’s new Esports club! New to campus in the 2021-2022 school year, Esports provides an opportunity for gamers to embrace their passion and talent and compete against others like them at surrounding Massachusetts schools. Led by Bryan Corbett ’11, practices are held twice per week. The games offered include Valorant, League of Legends, Rocket League, Overwatch, Apex Legends, and Super Smash Bros. Each game has multiple lines of players based upon competitiveness, similar to starters on a basketball roster or lines in hockey. This year, few matches took place between Xaverian’s Esports group and that of other surrounding schools, but the future looks to be more competitive with matches happening on a regularly scheduled basis. Throughout the year, the club met biweekly at Helix Esports in Foxboro. Some weeks, because of the versatility that a completely digital-oriented club offers, the group opted to meet virtually with members simply logging on to the Discord server, loading up their games, and playing from their homes. 

Senior Nick Elias was thrilled to have the opportunity to join the program in his final school year at Xaverian. “I never thought I’d see the day that Esports would come to Xaverian. There’s not many schools with an Esports program yet, but it's getting popular on the collegiate level. It's awesome to see Xaverian embracing the gaming world.” Coach Corbett echoes this sentiment: “I’d play hours of games when I was a student at Xaverian, but never got to do it competitively and definitely not with the school. As soon as it was advertised that Xaverian was looking for a coach, I immediately put my name. I envision a program that offers students what wasn’t available when I was their age.” His vision became reality with nearly 60 students in grades 7-12 taking part in Xaverian’s Esports program in its inaugural year.