MSU Esports Club is leveling up

MINOT, N.D. – The Minot State Esports Club will hold a campus social event on Thursday, May 5 at 6:30 p.m. Separately, they hope to hold a regional gaming tournament that includes high school and middle school students from Minot.

The club came to formal fruition in January 2022. Ethan Valentine, assistant professor of psychology, and Samuel Stinson, assistant professor of English, are the club’s advisors. Emily Couse is the student president, with Hannah Edington as the vice president. The club’s social media officer is Brandon Anderson.  

“We sent out a survey about interest in esports. I had gotten in touch with each of those students who responded to that survey, and I told them I'd make a Discord server if folks are interested in getting together and giving us feedback,” Valentine said. “With that, it started as not even necessarily a club, but as kind of a feedback center for students to come in and contribute and hopefully meet up and get to know each other.”

However, the club’s activity would pick up. In cooperation with the Wellness Center, the club started hosting social events every month on the multipurpose basketball courts.

“The club’s elections were kind of our first gaming night. It was a very small crowd. We had like 10 or 11 students come to that,” said Valentine. “It was also a snowy night!

“We continued to grow. So we had another gaming night later in February. We've had another one in March, and for that one, I think it was 26 or 27 students who came and attended, and we were there from 6:30 until basically the Wellness Center closed.”

For the near future, the club will host another social event before finals week, on May 5, in hopes of providing students an opportunity to unwind.

“It’s a get together right before finals week. We’ll play some games. We’ll have some food and kind of relax and unwind right before the stress of finals because that's absolutely a stressful time, and it's absolutely a difficult time,” Valentine said. “It’s kind of a last hurrah before finals. We'll have tournaments and casual play, and we'll have food and prizes.”

More than just social events, club members enrolled in the GGLeagues tournament this term and have been competing almost every Wednesday against regional schools. The club has been broadcasting their games on Twitch at MSesportsclub and linking a livestream to their Instagram bio, ms-esportsclub.

“GGLeagues is essentially a seven-week season, and you play either six or seven games depending on the bracket,” he said. “Our team, I think, played seven.”

The MSU Esports Club ranked seventh in the tournament.

Long-term plans for the club include holding a regional event on campus as well. This event, Valentine hopes, will spread the word about the club and establish Minot State as a point of interest for students interested in getting involved in esports during their college career. 

“We recently started getting in touch with Minot High and other high school partners. We're in the early planning stages for essentially a regional event on campus where we can actually invite groups from around the state and, potentially, from Southern Canada and the surrounding states. We're hoping to bring in middle school, high school, and adults. Having people compete here in Minot, coming to Minot State, will give us name recognition as well,” he said. “With community outreach, we try to find places that we can get the club to volunteer at and spread the word about itself.”  

About Minot State University
Minot State University is a public university dedicated to excellence in education, scholarship, and community engagement achieved through rigorous academic experiences, active learning environments, commitment to public service, and a vibrant campus life.

Published: 05/04/22   


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