10 I April 17, 2015
The Guilfordian
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Professional gaming garners attention
Lacrosse player Sam Cole '15 enjoys playing and watching professional video games online like "League of Legends.'
BY AUBREY KING
Staff Writer
Ten teenagers sit around expensive
computers, furiously clicking and
typing for a $2.1 million prize
pool. Over the Internet and on
ESPN3, 27 million people watched,
cheering them on.
This is the “Defense of the
Ancients 2” 2014 International
Championship, one of the largest
professional gaming tournaments
worldwide. Every year, tournaments
like this attract massive crowds with
intensity and displays of skill.
“I enjoy watching professional
gaming for the same reason I play
lacrosse and enjoy watching high
level lacrosse,” said senior Sam
Cole. “I found originally it helped
me get better, but then, as I got
more invested, I grew attached to
particular players the same way you
would a star athlete.”
Across the world, these game
tournaments have sprung up
around various games, allowing
fans to gravitate toward whichever
game they prefer.
"My favorite game by far out of
all popular eSports video games
is ‘League of Legends,’” said
sophomore Ben McKay-Simmons
in an email interview. “I have tried
playing a few others, but none of
them really have that spark that
(‘League of Legends’) has.”
“League of Legends,” a five-on-
flve fantasy strategy game, focuses
on teamwork and fine strategy.
Often categorized as a multiplayer
online battle arena, “League of
Legends” objectives center around
fighting through a large map and
capturing the base of the enemy
team.
One, of the more popular genres
in eSports, MOBA’s like “League of
Legends” and popular alternative
“DOTA 2” are well loved for their
deep strategic focus.
“I played ‘Starcraft,’ ‘DOTA,’
‘DOTA 2,’ ‘Heroes of the Storm’
and ‘League of legends,”’ said Cole.
“I keep coming back to ‘DOTA
2’ because it has a high skill cap;
you’re put in scenarios where
you and your teammates have to
work together to achieve certain
objectives.”
With so many names, acronyms
and rule sets, eSports can seem
intimidating. But the developers
and community members have
adjusted to welcome new players.
“There might be people who are
just light-years ahead of you when
you first start out, but all it takes
is a desire to learn how to play a
game to become so much better,”
said Early College junior William
Buck in an email interview.
If newcomers would rather
observe than play, most large
eSports tournaments feature a
specific broadcast with announcers
specially focused on teaching the
game’s mechanics while covering
the current matches. Twitch.tv, a
live video website, streams most
professional sporting events*
With that small amount of extra
information, most newcomers may
find themselves picking up eSports
quite quickly.
“Competitive gaming has no
entry barrier; anyone can be the
best,” said Buck. “In the world of
technology, everyone is on an equal
playing field. The only limit on the
players is in the code of the game.”
As eSports continue to grow,
the community grows more and
more inclusive. More tournaments
find more ways to bring in viewers
and excitement continues to build.
From The New York Times coverage
of “Call of Duty” teams to ESPN3’s
broadcast of “League of Legends,”
eSports is only growing, and it is a
fantastic time to jump in.
“To some people, it may look
like there’s a lot going on screen,
and they’re right,” said Cole.
“But if you can watch football or
basketball and understand what’s
going on you have what it takes to
watch or play ‘League of Legends’
or ‘DOTA.’”
Baseball’s busy offseason full of trades and changes
BY ZACHARY LINDSEY
Staff Writer
America’s pastime is back.
Major League Baseball kicked off
its 146th season on April 6 of this
year, and fans can only hope this
season is exciting as the last.
This season is coming off the cusp
of a seven-game World Series that
saw the San Francisco Giants edge
out the Kansas City Royals in the
Fall Classic for their eighth World
Series and third in the last five years.
It was a series headlined by pitcher
Madison Bumgarner, a product
of South Caldwell High School
in Hudson, North Carolina, who
was named the World Series Most
Valuable Player.
Following this was perhaps one
of the most bizarre offseasons in
baseball history.
Within a week of last year’s
season ending, the Chicago Cubs
signed Tampa Bay Rays manager
Joe Maddon to become their new
manager. Add this to the fact that
the Chicago White Sox could
potentially be the most improved
team in baseball for the 2015 season
after an excellent offseason, and
the city of Chicago has been in the
spotlight for the past six months.
Then the Los Angeles Dodgers,
consistent big-time spenders, replaced
one of the best middle infields in
baseball from 2014: shortstop Hanley
Ramirez and second baseman Dee
Gordon. • Ramirez signed with the
Boston Red Sox and Gordon with
the Miami Marlins. The excellent
duo of former Philadelphia Phillies
shortstop Jimmy Rollins and former
Los Angeles Angels second basemen
Howie Kendrick took their place.
Teams from the National League
East Division were other major
headliners of the offreason.
The offseason also included former
Greensboro Grasshopper outfielder
Giancarolo Stanton. In his 2014
season as a Marlin, Stanton hit 37
home runs on a .288 batting average
with 105 RBIs. This led Stanton to
signing a 13-year, $325 million deal
with the Miami Marlins, the largest
contract in sports history.
The Washington Nationals were
able to make one of the best pitching
rotations in baseball even better by
signing former Detroit Tigers ace
Max Scherzer to a $210 miUion
deal. Speculation regarding this deal
helps make the Nationals the early
National League and possibly World
Series favorites.
And then there is the local favorite
of many North Carolinians, the
Atlanta Braves, who traded their best
offensive players, catcher Evan Gattis
to the Houston Astros, outfielder
Justin Upton to the San Diego Padres
and outfielder Jason Heyward to the
MAJOR LEAGUE BASEBALL
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St. Louis Cardinals. Then the Braves
made perhaps the most surprising
late offreason move by trading both
outfielder Melvin Upton Jr. and star
closer Craig Kimbrel to the Padres.
Along with many offseason
transactions came multiple offseason
rule changes, most of which regarding
pace of play.
For the 2015 - 2016 season,
managers must now challenge all
replays from the dugout, batters
must now keep one foot in the
batter’s box at all times unless an
established exception occurs and
play must resume prompdy once the
broadcast returns from a commercial
break.
After all of these drastic changes
and a couple of months of spring
training, the 2015 season got kicked
off April 6 with a matchup between
the Cubs and the Cardinals. The
Cardinals shut out the Cubs 3-0.
This season, many believe that the
National League can be the best of
the two divisions despite American
League teams getting off to a hot
start. The Washington Nationals are
the preseason consensus to be the
World Series favorite. According to
Vegas odds though, the Los Angeles
Dodgers and the St. Louis Cardinals
are not far behind them.
In the American League, many
expect the Red Sox to have a great
shot to be playing late in October
with the hot-starting Tigers, Royals
and possibly the rising Seatde
Mariners as World Series contenders.
After the long wait, baseball
fanatics have seven months of
baseball in front of them.
The quest for October has
officially begun.
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