Over the last decade, the field of eSports has grown into a media giant. Despite doubts from athletes and long-standing sports organizations on the legitimacy of eSports careers, the act of playing a multiplayer video game competitively for spectators has drawn in millions of fans and has even given eSports athletes the chance to win prize pools upwards of three million dollars. While eSports provide strong careers for some individuals, they also inspire others to start competitive gaming clubs of their own, including some students at LFA.

Before fall 2020, Lake Forest Academy was no stranger to eSports. Starting in 2019, a group of LFA students playing League of Legends matched up against other schools all across the country, competing in large scale tournaments for fame and glory. Over a year later, and with COVID-19 forcing us apart, Lake Forest Academy senior Richard Wu ‘21 had a similar idea, but with a different game. 

Wu had been working with the idea of starting an LFA eSports team for almost two years, but after debating between his preferred game, Counter Strike Global Offensive, and a chaotic team-based game called Overwatch, Wu decided starting an Overwatch team “was more feasible in the college applications season.”

Luckily for Wu, he found it relatively easy to put together a lineup, but he felt more comfortable in a coaching position, and decided to only play when the team needed him. With the help of co-coach and social media manager Garrison Sloan ‘21, the LFA Overwatch team roster, including Brooks Osborne (In-game leader), Ian Honczarenko, Tri Vien Le, Max and Will Collins, Farhan Suhaime, and Robert Billings, was ready for their first opponent. 

Throughout the start of the first semester of the 2020-2021 school year, the LFA Overwatch team competed against 50 other schools in preparation for the PlayVS’s Midwest Region official season, and LFA came out on top, beating every team they faced and starting the regular season with an undefeated record. 

The team has even created a fan-base, with many LFA students tuning into streams to watch the games, which can be found on the Twitch.tv streaming website at twitch.tv/lfaoverwatch. While Wu loves seeing his team gain a following and go undefeated, he also understands the team gives students a chance to connect over a game they love, one of these students being a vietnamese international student Tri Vien Le ‘21. “Not being on campus [due to COVID-19] is tough, but I love the chance to get together with my friends and compete against other schools online,” said Le ‘21.

Wu hopes to continue his team’s success throughout the regular season, and even has aspirations to start another eSports team next semester. But for now, he is focused on having “a good time, and letting [their] viewers have one as well.”