When eSports team adviser Jacob Utities heard of other schools that were participating in competitive video gaming, he decided to bring it to Park.

“I came up with it last year, I heard another school had a ‘League of Legends’ team, so then I was going to put it together and turns out there is a new league called the high school eSports league that started this year,” Utities said.

According to Utities, the eSports world is growing significantly and its market is expanding.

“Last year the ‘League of Legends’ world final game had 43 million independent viewers. (eSports) is a gigantic industry now, and it is one that there is a ton of jobs in,” Utities said. “You can go to college and play or go to college to learn about the development side or marketing side.”

Senior eSports team member Ethan Sadler said he enjoys being able to continue his interest in gaming competitively.

“I love video games and doing it to get scholarships is really, really cool. I (also) like doing it against other people,” Sadler said.

Utities said similar to other sports at Park, eSports is a team with events, including practices and games.

“We have teams, we have practices, we have team captains, that kind of stuff,” Utities said. “(We) have two games a week, one during the week and one on Saturdays, and then we meet every Thursday after school.”

Utities said he believes eSports is a unique opportunity for students who do not participate in other athletics to enjoy a sport.

“It gives students an opportunity to shine at school who typically wouldn’t have that opportunity in the past,” Utities said. “I think it is really misunderstood because people think video games, waste of time, etc., but really this is a sport, we are competing against other teams.”

According to Sadler, eSports is gaining popularity and will continue to grow in the future.

“(eSports) is not a joke. It is something that kids love and enjoy and it even attracts the younger adult audience. It is enormous and it is growing bigger,” Sadler said.