In the fall of 2019 Marquette University launched a varsity Esports club, the first in the nation run by a major conference Division I athletics program. The Marquette Gaming and Esports Club mirrors the traditional athletics team model with many of the same benefits for players: leadership development, teamwork, communication and the pursuit of excellence. We recently sat down with MGE teammate Elton Moy to talk about gaming, MGE and the future of Esports. 
Introduce Yourself.
How did you get into Esports?
Tell us about MGE as a competitive club as well as a social club.
How would you like to see MGE and other gaming communities grow at Marquette University?
What events are coming up for MGE in 2020?
Where do you see the future of Esports 10-15 years from now?
Why do you think Esports has grown so popular so quickly?
What are some of the games the MGE team competes in?
Tell us about the MGE Super Smash Bros. teams and events.
Follow the Marquette Gaming and Esports Club on their Website, Instagram, Facebook and Twitter
Introduce Yourself.
Hi! My name is Elton Moy, and I am a Sophomore at Marquette University studying Biomedical Sciences.
I was first introduced to competitive Melee after watching a livestream of a tournament, Apex 2015, during my freshman year of high school. I saw how fast-paced and technical the game could be played at, and I was instantly drawn in.
Upon arriving at Marquette, I heard that there was an Esports club and was eager to be involved in any way. To no surprise, I was excited to learn that the club hosted Smash Bros. events, and had a community of passionate players.
MGE offers a variety of events and opportunities for anybody interested in gaming. As a social club, MGE hosts several LAN events throughout the year, where people can bring their own consoles and games, meet new friends and have a fun time with other gamers! On the competitive side of things, there are numerous teams at Marquette for many competitive games. As a team member, students get to compete against other colleges, and even get to play in the Big East. Overall, MGE provides many ways for gamers to connect with each other on campus.
How would you like to see MGE and other gaming communities grow at Marquette University?
I would love to see MGE create more events for games that have less competitive presence at Marquette, like NBA 2K, Madden, or Hearthstone. An intramural league for other games would be great for students who are interested in competing, but just within the Marquette community. Nevertheless, MGE has done an amazing job already at growing the communities here on campus!
As of now, we have a LAN event scheduled in February, and our semesterly Super Smash Bros. tournament at the beginning of March, but we have many more events planned that we will be revealing shortly! You can stay updated with MGE on our Twitter account @marquettegaming. How did you get involved with Koss?
Koss is one of our sponsors for MGE, and has helped us out greatly in supporting our teams and letting us run more events on campus! Working with Koss on this interview has been great, and we hope to do more collaborations in the future!
Where do you see the future of Esports 10-15 years from now?
Esports itself is still fairly young, so the predictions I make for even a year from now could be completely wrong! But if I had to make some predictions for the next decade, I would expect to see the Esports industry become less volatile for investors, which will lead the way for more pro players, pro leagues, and hopefully more collegiate involvement.
If one thing is for certain though, Esports will only continue to grow from here on out. By 2030, I hope Esports will be something that will be accepted and understood by everybody.
I think at its core - it’s because video games are very fun to watch and play! Aside from that, people love competing and competitive gaming is a great display of skill, adaptability, and hard work. Communities surrounding video games have always been strong, so it is no surprise to me that people are very passionate towards the games that they enjoy competing in. To comment on the sudden rise of Esports, I would say the vast improvements in online gaming throughout the 2010s has helped create better players and develop stronger bonds between regions, so the title of “Best in the World” is now more lucrative than ever before.
MGE has a variety of club teams, including Call of Duty, CS:GO, Rainbow 6 Siege, Overwatch, and Super Smash Bros. Melee and Ultimate. We also have a League of Legends, and Rocket League team that both compete in the Big East.
Tell us about the MGE Super Smash Bros. teams and events.
MGE has club teams for both Super Smash Bros. Melee and Super Smash Bros. Ultimate. Our teams often compete in local Wisconsin tournaments, as well as play against nearby Milwaukee universities. As for events, MGE hosts weekly Smash Bros. tournaments featuring both games, as well as having a much larger tournament every semester with a prize pot. All of our events are open to all Marquette students. Why do you think Esports is becoming so ubiquitous at Universities?
Aside from universities wanting to get in on the multi-billion dollar industry that is Esports, I think they are starting to realize the skill and dedication it takes to becoming a high-level player and want to start supporting students who strive to make it to the top. Plus, the university atmosphere helps develop camaraderie between determined players, and build close communities. Speaking of communities, I would like to give shoutouts to the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee and the Milwaukee School of Engineering Smash communities for supporting our events thus far!
Follow the Marquette Gaming and Esports Club on their Website, Instagram, Facebook and Twitter
