Lyranthus fought hard. But jumping, then landing too many times facing away from her opponent, only to execute her offensive maneuvers into empty space, resulted in defeat – over and over. Just like that, it was 4-0, handing Lyra Peterson, the real person behind the mythical gamer tag, her first loss in what was Salt Lake Community College’s first-ever eSports match earlier in February.
Last fall Kevin Dustin, SLCC Director of Intercollegiate Athletics and Recreation, responded to growing student interest in forming an eSports team to compete in sanctioned online gaming with other colleges. “As we begin, it is mostly recruiting existing students and putting them directly into competition,” Dustin says. “Soon, they will be recruited out of high school, just like any other athlete.” SLCC will compete with schools throughout the NJCAA and its Scenic West Athletic Conference, which includes SLCC and currently has three eSports teams. Dustin predicts SLCC will be able to offer scholarships for eSports student competitors in 2022 while adding more games, like League of Legends and Rocket League.
It starts with one student, Peterson, who during the current spring season is pioneering eSports competition at SLCC as the college’s sole team member. She’s happy to be taking her lumps playing against competitors who have years more experience than her. “After my loss, I was mostly proud that I had taken my competitor down a few times so that he didn’t get a perfect game off of me,” she says. “I was also just proud to represent SLCC, even in a loss.”
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| Peterson's character Lyranthus in mid-battle |
Peterson competed in a game called Smash Brothers, where combatants punch, kick and perform “super attacks” that employ giant laser blasts, rocket barrages and more against cartoonish opponents in a “fantasy-like” atmosphere (not bloody or gory) in order to knock them off platforms. Competitors use a Nintendo Switch gaming unit for the four-round battles. For spectators, the excitement and energy of competition emanating from flat screens can be surprisingly palpable and compelling.
To be competitive at the collegiate level, Peterson and future SLCC team members will need to train. “Doing anything for an extended period of time results in diminishing returns,” says Josh Barney, SLCC eSports coach. “Purpose-built training, where you sit down and work on a particular skill within the game for an allotted time with breaks and refueling and hydration sessions tend to sow the best results. Many people can do this for extended periods of time and have shown good results with this kind of training.” Barney recommends training between two to six hours for a single session. “Life balance really is meaningful in all aspects of this as well. I always teach that when you sit down to practice have a purpose for why you are playing and not just play to pass time.”
Peterson, 31, the SLCC Student Association vice president over publicity and advertising, lost her first game to a student at Mott Community College in Flint, Michigan. That game taught her that she needs to work on her landings and shield use. She fits in training when she’s not busy working toward associate’s degrees in animation and general studies, which she expects to earn by May. She plans to earn a third SLCC degree in American sign language. “I’ve been practicing daily and watching videos about how to counter various picks,” she says. “My next match will likely be just as difficult.”
It was. Lyranthus, a mashup of Peterson’s “chosen” first and middle names, had a match a week later against a student from Irvine Valley College in California that ended in another 4-0 shutout, to borrow a baseball term. “I’d gladly pass the controller to someone more skilled who also has the drive to compete for the school, but I want to become that person,” she says. “I also don’t want ‘the first SLCC eSports athlete’ to be remembered as lackluster, but as an underdog who improved to become competitive.”
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