Investing hours in online gaming can come with benefits. esports, a competitive virtual sport, has led to opportunities in the lives future of gamers.

The controversy of esports is very up and down. The facilitator and supporter of Nixa’s esports teams, Scott Dunn said that while there is controversy over whether video gaming fits the definition of a traditional sport, that esports focuses on competition.

“There’s two different leagues that we [the team] join, one would be All Missouri High School or Regional High Schools,” Dunn said. “I think that
it counts as a sport if your school has a team and our school has a team. … Enough people think that video games are worth their time.”

The difference between esports and other sports is the different aspects,
virtual versus physical activity.

“The literal difference is, like football [it’s] two physical teams physically interacting,” Dunn said. “The difference is that one is more of a virtual battle
instead of a physical battle.”

Esports, like other sports, have specific jobs for each player. Every game
differs in the players’ jobs. Sophomore Hendrix Trott, the captain of the Overwatch team, proclaimed his role in the Overwatch fights.

I’m a main tank role, which I’m basically the shield that helps protect the
rest of my team and each person has a different speciality for the team fight,”Trott said.

Esports has many different games to be able to compete in; the minimum
necessity is a team-based video game.

“Right now, we have League of Legends, Rocket League [and] we just put
together a Valorant team,” Trott said. “We have the Overwatch team. We are
trying to put together a CSGO team, but it hasn’t gone through. Really just
any game that has a team versus team fight.”

The competition of esports is still somewhat local. Junior Parker Barnes is a player in both the Overwatch and League of Legends team.

“Right now it’s pretty competitive. We’re playing against all schools in the
mid-west area, it’s not too localized,” Barnes said.

The Overwatch team fights begin with rounds decided by the host of the
battle. A speech is given by the coach which gives a rundown of the match,
and then the game is started up.

“One school versus another school and the best out of whatever the match
holder decides,” Trott said. “I do [a speech] to let them know what’s all
happening, what we can do to improve and what we can get in our heads before each round, each game. A little bit of rundown.”

The stress of the virtual battlefield brings the objective focus on the main
goal, communication and concentration, which is beneficial to the team.

“A lot of yelling. … I try to keep them focused,” Barnes said.