Several times a week, Canal Winchester High School senior Finn Garza heads to one of the school’s computer labs.
The lab has 32 high-performance desktop computers, each outfitted with RTX2060 graphics cards, 16GB of RAM, a 1TB solid state drive and 24” 144HZ monitors, according to Canal Winchester engineering teacher Benjamin Wyatt, who said the computers typically are used for engineering purposes.
But Garza isn’t in the lab for that reason; she’s there to play Overwatch – a team-based multiplayer first-person shooter game that’s become a mainstay in professional gaming leagues.
Garza is a team captain for the Canal Winchester esports team, which has about 50 members. In Overwatch, Garza is a support player who plays as Lúcio, one of the game’s Heroes.
“I really like it,” she said. “When you go home and you can play video games, the majority of the time, at least for me, I can never find myself a reason to. I’m like, ‘Well, I can do it.’ But I never really set aside the time to do it, let alone competitively.”
Esports has grown into a multi-billion dollar industry as the video-game industry has shifted from the realm of amateur players to that of professional gamers as well.
Canal Winchester is among the districts who have jumped on the trend and formed esports programs. Ohio State also is involved in esports.
Canal Winchester plays in the central conference of the eSports Ohio League, which has more than 100 high school teams from around the state. Other central Ohio districts include Grandview Heights, Hilliard, New Albany, Olentangy, Pickerington and Worthington.
Wyatt, who oversees the team, said he jumped at the opportunity to be a part of the team.
“I love games; I’m a gamer,” he said. “I thought it’d be really cool to help out.”
The program started with about 20 students for its first season in spring 2021.
Canal Winchester has experienced success in its three seasons – with each season taking place over half of a school year. After defeating Toledo St. John’s in a semifinal last fall, Canal Winchester defeated Oberlin in December to win a state title in League of Legends, a popular Multiplayer Online Battle Arena (MOBA) game.
Canal Winchester’s gamers also play Valorent – a first-person “hero” shooter – and Rocket League – an arcade soccer-style game played with vehicles.
There is no cost to join the team other than purchasing the PC version of Overwatch, Wyatt said. The other titles played by the teamare free to play.
The team competes Monday-Thursday and practice Friday, Wyatt said.
Wyatt said playing on the team provides benefits for students outside of having fun after school. Teamwork is involved in the games, he said, and students are responsible for many of the team’s tasks such as helping to coordinate matches with other schools.
“They’re getting interpersonal skills for sure,” he said. “It’s another challenge for them to face together, which I think is really cool. But also organization; I give them a lot of responsibility.
“We’re learning those skills as we have fun. And I think having fun is the biggest thing.”
Freshman Grey Lynsky, who plays Overwatch, said he’s having a great time.
“It’s awesome,” he said. “I think it’s so great because this is something I do for fun, and it’s become something I can do and compete for the school.”
Freshman Andy Estabillo, who plays Valorent, agreed.
“All the people here, it’s fun to just work together with them and talk about strategies and stuff,» he said.
Wyatt said each player can participate in two games. He said about 20 players on the roster play Overwatch, about 10 play Valorent and League of Legends and about six play Rocket League.
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