The Washburn Esports Club hosts meetings every Tuesday and Thursday from 6 to 7:30 p.m. to practice gaming, where they play digital games such as Apex, Rocket League, Super Smash Bros and more. Their room is located on the second floor of the Living Learning Center. 

The room filled with shouts of triumph and frustration as competitors faced the outcomes of their matches.

“Our mission this semester has been to really focus on creating a sense of community within everyone that is involved, and also just having a lot of fun,” said Nick Johnston, junior biology major and president of the Esports gaming club.

Johnston mentioned that the club hopes to introduce more beginners or casual gamers into the space, and on game nights, they focus on games that anyone can play, such as Minecraft.

Timothy White, Esports monitor and junior majoring in social work, discussed what drew him to the club.

“Whether you’re looking to find people who play a game that you already play, or just hang out with a group of friends… I think the sports lounge is a nice place for that,” White said.

White then stated that his favorite game franchise so far is Pokémon.

Ayden Mendez, game enthusiast and freshman majoring in business administration, had a message for Washburn students.

“If you haven’t really looked into a club, I recommend stopping by the Esports lounge and kind of just connecting with some people, or if you have some free time, just check out some games and see what we’ve got going on in here,” Mendez said.

At the end of the meeting, Johnston concluded that “[The club] is very small, mainly because a lot of people… don’t really come to game nights. So I would be very happy if more people came, because I really do want to build a sense of community.”

For more information, you can view the Washburn Esports Team’s Instagram.

Edited by Arohi Rai and Bidhya Sapkota