A prize pool of $1,000 was up for grabs on Oct. 4, as the Kansas State Esports Club hosted its first “Rainbow Six Siege” tournament. Titled “The Manhattan Project,” seven universities traveled from across the country to compete for their share of the money. Held at the esports facility in the K-State Student Union, the event showcased the support behind collegiate esports and how programs like these can foster community among students across colleges, states and beyond.
Esports, or “electronic sports,” is the broad term for competitive gaming. Dating back to the early 1970s, esports has been a slowly growing industry — until the pandemic, that is. The sudden need for distancing protocols and health concerns hampered traditional sports, but the opposite was true for esports. In 2020, competitive gaming saw a boom in popularity and notoriety that couldn’t be ignored.
This newfound interest catapulted the industry into the spotlight, and the funding and support of collegiate esports programs inevitably followed. The K-State Esports Club was founded in 2018, then built upon post-pandemic with the hiring of a full-time esports coordinator, Ben Counts.
Having previously worked at Highland Community College in the same role, Counts brought experience and a vision to the program. Since then, the club has grown to be one of the largest student organizations on campus, offering a wide variety of casual and competitive gaming experiences.
“We’re student-first, through and through,” Counts said. “We want to offer games and events that bring people into the community, not keep them out.”
Senior Colby Pierce took charge of the creation and supervision of the event. According to Pierce, “The Manhattan Project” had it all — a constant live stream of matches with student commentary, a hired content specialist to film and take photos and a plethora of sponsors to fund the logistics and prize pool.
“It required a lot of hard work by a lot of really dedicated people,” Pierce said.
The in-person, nine-team tournament offered a high level of competition in the game “Rainbow Six Siege,” one of the club’s most successful programs. Featuring notable schools such as Texas A&M, Columbia College and the University of Illinois, the weekend was full of fun matchups and community building. By the end of the event, Columbia College claimed first place, with K-State as the runner-up.
“This event was a large success because it showed that we care about running events like this for our teams and for visitors,” Pierce said. “There are not a lot of LAN (in-person) tournaments for collegiate Rainbow Six, so we are glad K-State has the capability to host for teams who might not have other opportunities.”
Counts said K-State esports is already looking toward future events.
“There’s already plans in the works for new tournaments, new events and ultimately just new ways to invest in our students,” Counts said.
