Michigan State and its esports program have seen a lot of recent growth and success in the past two years, not only in the tournaments it has participated in but the amount of progress the team has earned as far as a growing platform. The team is now getting enough attention to make great new leaps with additions of new gaming lounges throughout the campus and the development of a new conference to reach new levels of competition. Every member of the team from the staff to the players has put in great effort to build the program up for achievements even greater than tournament wins.
Max Humes, a member of the MSU esports Valorant team, started his journey like many others. He had an interest in gaming from a young age, starting with Call of Duty on PC at around 10 or 11 years old. He l progressed to more skill-based games such as Counter-Strike, and eventually to Valorant, when it was released in 2020. It was in Valorant where Humes truly found his competitive stride, reaching the top 500 players in North America. The competitive edge is what propelled him to keep playing competitively into college.
“I think the competition is what keeps me going,” said Humes. “It is just like anything when you see that you are good at something you want to keep going and see how far you can get.”
The drive to get better did not come without difficulty. One of the most eye-opening aspects of competitive gaming is the sheer amount of practice and time required to compete at the highest levels. Team members have practices throughout the week to improve their skills as well as film study to pay more attention to detail and training just like most sports.
“At my previous school, they practiced 50 to 60 hours per week,” said Humes. Currently, the Spartans team practices 15 hours per week for a better balance between being a student and being a member of the team. While the style of practice may differ it is still focused on creating a competitive environment that can continue to compete at the top of the Power Esports Conference.
Living and spending much time with teammates creates a unique dynamic that is sometimes hard to maintain interest in. Humes described his teammates becoming “like brothers” and “best friends.” However, he also noted the challenges of spending so much time together - practicing for hours a week and then living in the same space. This intense closeness can foster strong team bonds but also presents challenges in maintaining personal space and managing interpersonal relationships.
Humes found himself taking a hiatus from gaming for 6 months before returning. The strain and burnout can be a factor just as any other aspect of life. This did not stop him though as he came back to the scene better than he was before the break, Michigan State's esports program being a major reason for this resurgence in interest.
There is a growing presence of esports especially in collegiate settings. MSU, for instance, has seen success with its esports program to the point where they have added two Esports rooms to campus in the past two years. This growth is opening new opportunities for gamers to express their interest and participate in many events such as tournaments, trips, and meeting with high school students to allow others to enjoy the experience of esports.
Many schools in the Big Ten conference have agreed to form a conference in which they compete against one another bringing many schools together to grow the ecosystem of esports. MSU’s Chris Bilski, who was named as the Esports U 2024 Director of the Year, played a major role in the growth of the program as well as the formation of the conference.
“We try to jump on those opportunities to travel and be able to play in front of a live audience,” said Bilski. “That is a big deal for students looking for a path in esports to see those types of opportunities and want to be a part of it.”
“I give our director a lot of credit, putting a lot of this together. Without him we wouldn’t be where we are as far as success,” said Humes. “He was a major part in putting this all together and has done a really good job helping us be successful.”
One of the most compelling aspects of esports is its accessibility. Success doesn’t require physical training to be considered to make the team. The path of entry allows talent to emerge from diverse backgrounds no matter what type of person and gives many an equal opportunity to succeed. As long as the effort is put in just like anything there is always a path to success and esports especially grants that opportunity to a larger population who may not be a superstar athlete but is still highly skilled in a different type of game.
“There really is the same type of commitment,” said Bilski. “The things that we are doing with our program are things the college has never done before and that takes a lot of work from all of us.”