Brightly-lit faces, hunched backs, and frantic typing characterize the various members of PHS’s eSports club. First founded during the 2018–19 school year, the eSports club was created in order to establish a common ground where all gamers at PHS could congregate and work toward tearing down the stereotypes surrounding the gaming community.

After building up a following of students, the eSports club faced a few hurdles with the banning of first-person shooter games by the Learning Commons at the start of the 2019–20 school year, and a parent voicing their concerns regarding their child’s participation in a club that sanctioned the playing of violent games. However, as the rest of PHS’s athletes have suffered due to the cancellation or rescheduling of all practices and games through May 15, the eSports club has been thriving. Taking advantage of this period of isolation, the club has further bonded and strengthened their team and looks forward to redefining what it means to be part of a gaming community.

“We have a joke in our club [about] how … eSports wasn’t [considered] a sport [before quarantine], but now eSports [is] the only sport,” said Bill Zheng ’20, vice-president and manager of the eSports club.

Although the playing fields remain manicured despite holding no games, this is not the case for popular streaming sites such as Twitch. With some of its members streaming their own games and a tight-knit Discord chat to follow, the eSports club has been able to increase the level of rapport among members.

“[I] think the attitude and our mindset change was definitely one of the biggest factors.

Before the quarantine, everyone was thinking selfishly like, ‘I’ll carry this team.’ Everyone was on their solo missions,” said Anthony Momo ’21. “Once we started actually playing with each other, we decided to contribute [as a team] and everyone bonded because of that. In the end, everyone gained more respect for each other.”

With the closure of school and the onset of remote learning, members have enjoyed the luxury of increased free time. Nyima Shawa ’21 and JP Kinney ’23 have performed especially well in their respective games — Minecraft and Super Smash Bros Ultimate — with Shawa placing as high as rank one on his server.

“Minecraft is a pretty mechanical game, and during the quarantine, I was given time to [get back into shape],” said Shawa. “During the school year I couldn’t really dedicate myself to consistently play and ‘sharpen’ my mechanics, but this past month I could do that.”

Aside from the improved performance of individual members, this increased free time has also granted teams within the club to really regroup and comb through some logistics to make sure that all operations are running smoothly.

“Before, each player didn’t have a specific role during [the game, but] now we’re able to give each player specific ‘jobs’ on a team, which would not be possible without massive team cooperation,” Zheng said.

With their original purpose being to break down some of the stereotypes associated with gaming, this time of quarantine has provided just that. Rather than being a breeding ground for the toxicity often found in competitive gaming groups, the eSports Club recognizes the usage of streaming as a way for people to come together in this time of separation.

“The good thing about streaming is you are able to find people from all over the world. People are in different situations and knowing that them watching you helps them make their lives better is important,” said Adam Lipschutz ’21. “We are definitely interacting with each other a lot more, and being together brings us funny moments and awesome plays. … Having a community that supports you makes everyone feel good, and [you] can have a good time even if [you] are down.”