Everyone in the last couple of years has heard of Esports whether that be participating in gaming, or even watching it. Esports at Pella has also increased in popularity and notoriety. IT field tech Cody Mock started the first team of 5 students in 2020. Now forty-plus students have stepped up to play Esports for Pella. This team covers multiple games, which involve advanced gaming skills. 

“It requires communication and skill, much like football or basketball,” said senior Samuel Lopez, a member of the Pella High Esports team. 

Lopez is a part of the Fortnite team. He plays trios with other members on zero builds, which is a game mode inside Fortnite. They meet in the Queue, located at 418 E Oskaloosa St, at least once a week for a couple of hours as a team. After they have played several games, they turn in their best four games. These games are counted as competition and compared to other teams.

A regular season for the Pella Esports team lasts 2-3 months. The teams cover over 10 different games, with multiple games having more than one team. Ranging from Fortnite and Call of Duty all the way to games like Super Smash Bros and Minecraft, one thing that all these games have in common is that they are backed by the nearly 1.5 billion dollar industry that is gaming. This allows for the people on Esports teams to have a foot in the door at high-paying jobs, collegiate scholarships, or any type of future in IT. 

“Epic games will pay you $240,000 right out the gate,” senior Micheal Schuring claims. 

Schuring is also a senior on the Esports team as well as a videogame designer. Schuring has developed several of his own games which are out on multiple platforms. He is currently waiting on approval for another game to be released on PlayStation.

As the Esports industry continues to grow at an exponential rate, Pella’s Esports team grows as well.