With the millions of games at their disposal on the Internet, investing in a gaming computer has been a worthwhile choice. “I was introduced to gaming by my older cousin, but there was no way I could afford a $2,000 setup” said Zain “Zsoh” Soherwardy. And when asked how he paid for his own, he said, “It was surely a struggle. I bought a $200 laptop to try to game, but soon my friends bullied me into investing into something more durable.”

And these friends that Zsoh mentioned became more than just friends. After spending hours together everyday playing games like CSGO, to Rocket League, to Minecraft, their bond strengthened. However, the more they played these games, this group of more than 30 kids felt like this could be something more. Playing 5v5 competitive mode no longer gave the same buzz that they first had. And then an idea was brought to the table: starting an eSports league for EB.

eSports is known as “a multiplayer video game played competitively for spectators, typically by professional gamers” (Oxford Languages). There are hundreds of different leagues and competitive scenes where real people invest their whole lives into this sport. So it makes sense to begin a league in the student body.

“eSports is the pinnacle of entertainment within quarantine,” said Nabhan Mazid, one of the leaders of the club. “Having these tournaments during quarantine really gave some kids something new in their life and something to look forward to on the weekend.” Right now, the group mainly focuses on tournaments for kids in EB and around Middlesex County for countless games, but they plan to expand in the coming years. “Hopefully soon we can also have in person tournaments and LAN parties, but that can all happen when Covid is gone.” But as the time goes by, these kids, mostly juniors, will soon get closer and closer to the end of their senior year. As eSports has been blowing up around the world and raking in millions of dollars. The eSports community in EB is growing and this is just the start of something big.