Friday nights at SU’s Esports Center offer ‘random fun,’ nightlife alternative
Large high-quality screens in the Gaming and Esports Center enhance the experience for gamers, especially for students who don't have their own monitors. Tara Deluca | Contibuting Photographer
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Groups of 10 towered over two computer screens for a Super Smash Bros. match-off while people cheered on the players. With competitive screaming and loud music, the Gaming and Esports Center feels less like virtual video gaming and more like witnessing a live sporting event.
“It is a different feeling being in here and having a good time on a Friday night than it is going out to a bar or fraternity party,” senior Ryan Blankenhorn said. “It’s more than just Mountain Dew and Doritos in a basement, it’s a lot more connected.”
The 5,800 square-foot Esports Center, which opened in January, is housed in Syracuse University’s Schine Student Center. The Esports Center includes 24 PC and 10 elevated computers with mirrored TVs for spectators to watch gaming competitions.
It serves as the practice location for SU’s varsity esports team. But for many students, it’s also their go-to Friday night hangout spot — a high-energy alternative to weekend nightlife.
For Blankenhorn, the Esports Center is better than any bar or fraternity party. He works as a newscaster for the virtual games, coaches Rocket League tournaments and spends hours playing on the computers.
As an esports communications major, Blankenhorn transferred to SU his sophomore year, in part for the strong esports program. Now a senior, he said he spends time at the Esports Center nearly every day. On Friday, he arrived at noon and didn’t leave until they closed at 10 p.m.
“(It) means more to me than going to a bar and talking over loud music and having a conversation when I can talk over loud video game noises instead,” Blankenhorn said.
Roommates Prasanna Dixit and Megh Kurlekar start their Fridays at the Esports Center to pregame the night’s festivities. The graduate students challenge each other to rounds of FIFA on weekends and almost every time they are on campus, they said.
In the Esports Center, Dixit can play soccer — his favorite sport — in only a few minutes without taking a toll on his body or investing much time. He said he enjoys virtually playing across seas with someone from his home in India or across the table with someone new from the Esports Center.
“Us being international students, it’s a little hard for us to gel in, there’s a cultural shift for us after having parties in India and then coming here,” Kurlekar said. “We let out our stress here before we go out.”
Gamers often spend hours in the Gaming and Esports Center, playing games like Valorant, Super Smash Bros. and Rocket League. Tara Deluca | Contibuting Photographer
On Friday night, Dixit and Kurlekar’s FIFA competition attracted a crowd around their TV screen. Dixit won the game and asked if anyone wanted to face off with him. Soon, onlookers were watching Dixit play against someone whom he had just met. That’s part of the fun of esports, he said.
“We love playing online games, we always have random fun with random people who join in on the games,” Dixit said.
Varsity Rocket League player Sebastian Sares practices competitively in the Esports Center weekly but still chooses to visit the gaming center on the weekends with friends for recreational play. Sares said he visits the Esports Center upwards of four times a week.
“The community is my people, it’s a bunch of gamers who love playing with each other,” Sares said. “Having a place where people can play in their free time, during the weekends, where there’s not really things to do, is important.”
Students can beat each other in a round of Super Smash Bros. or Valorant from their own dorms. But the feeling of facing your opponent and screaming at them live is more satisfying than communicating through a headset, sophomore Tommy Wu said.
That’s what attracts people to play at the Esports Center; it’s a community. Wu had just met a fellow Valorant player next to him and they compared game ranks. It’s much cooler than playing alone in his room, he said.
Wu said he appreciates the Esports Center’s high-quality screens. It enhances the video game playing experience, he said. Wu said many of his friends don’t have PCs or monitors in their dorm rooms, so they appreciate the ability to play with the large screens at the Esports Center.
Playing next to one of his friends, Wu was on his third hour of playing Valorant. He isn’t the only Esports Center visitor that stays longer than he expected to when visiting the Esports Center; it’s a common theme among players.
Dixit and Kurlekar only planned to play a 30-minute match of FIFA after they got dinner at Schine. Their visit turned into a three and a half hour activity, totalling four games.
Not everyone who walks through the Esports Center is an avid video game player; some have never touched a controller or PC before, Sares said. He said the most fulfilling part is coming together to teach others how to play.
Playing alone in his room and communicating with teammates over the phone can be isolating, Sares said. The lounge provides a communal space to bond over video games and get out of the dorm.
“It’s a great experience because it’s not as lonely when you’re in your room,” Sares said. “It can be a little noisy at times, but I think that comes with the territory and is just the fun of playing games. That’s the main reason why everyone’s here.”
