Game on! Texoma college hosts major Esports championship

DURANT, Oklahoma (KXII) – On Saturday, Southeastern Oklahoma State University was home to the Great American Esports Conference Championship.

The championship brought in 10 university Esports teams from around the region.

Players battled in solo and team competitions, putting skills to the test in three different games — Rocket League, Overwatch, and Super Smash Bros.

Normally, the teams compete online, but this championship brought rivals face-to-face for the very first time.

“It’s really cool to meet everybody and get to interact with these people that we meet online and see online,” Southeastern Team Captain Dawson Meador, or ‘DJ’ as he’s known in-game, said.

Meador joined the Savage Storm as a football player, and found the Esports team on a side quest.

“Some people might be a little bit more shy, some people might be really open,” he said. “Those two groups get to come together and build that camaraderie.”

That camaraderie led his team to a championship win in Rocket League.

“We’ll get a trophy to put on our trophy case downstairs and just add to our collection,” he said. “It’ll look cool for when people are walking by for their visits.”

Christian Hubbard, or ‘TerminalMac4Yu’, plays for the University of Arkansas at Monticello.

It was a near six-hour drive with his team to compete in Durant, but he said he didn’t mind, because the team is like his home away from home.

“This is like an easy way to make a new family like this, these people can be your family,” Hubbard said. “I think it’s a really great idea to get involved, talk to the people, and see if your school has an Esports program.”

All in all, it was a pixel-perfect day where the internet — and the community — were strong.

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