Exploring and expanding the e-sports community at Rider

By Brannagh Rattigan

From murder mystery games to high-tension competitions in Super Smash Brothers, the e-sports team at Rider has got it all covered with its two casual and competitive group meetings.

The casual team spent Thursday night on Feb. 19 brainstorming through various puzzle games in the murder mystery game called “Murder By Numbers.” Beginning at 7:30 p.m. in Fine Arts, the group’s members relieved stress working together on puzzle mini games, with soft music filling the background.

At the same time, in the Science and Technology center, the competitive team was working together to fight in a rescheduled Super Smash Bros. match. The group was led by junior English major Julian Geibel, president of the e-sports club and captain of the Super Smash Bros. Ultimate team. 

Geibel, who joined the club as a freshman, explained that the competitive team is in the midst of their season playing in the Mid-American Conference. This means leading Super Smash Bros. and Street Fighter Six tournaments every other Friday. 

“We work in tandem with TCNJ and so one Friday will be us, another with them, and so on and so forth,” Geibel said.

Later in the season, the competitive team will partake in a larger competition called the Royal Stampede, which Rider’s e-sports team participated in for the first time last year.

“It is much bigger as opposed to our biweekly Smash tournaments, which are more local and small-scale,” Geibel said.

Besides competition, Geibel expressed how welcoming the community and atmosphere of the e-sports team is, both casual and competitive.

“Its just a good way to build community and get a lot of people together and just play games, because that what its really all about,” Geibel said.

Freshman member and communication studies major Julian Paz joined the team after realizing in high school that he had a passion for Super Smash Bros  and competing in local tournaments. 

“Once I realized Rider had their own e-sports team for Super Smash Bros, I made it my goal to make that the first club I joined,” Paz said.

He shared that the competitive team competes in two leagues, the MAC, which is primarily online, and the Garden State Esports, where they travel to other colleges.

“My favorite memory was the GSE competition from last semester, where we went in and faced Rutgers, Princeton, and other top level schools in the league,” he said.

Paz explained that the community within the e-sports team is extremely welcoming and always open to take in new members, although the competitive team is best for people who have more than just an interest in the game. 

“The community is very, very welcoming of both the casual and the competitive side, because we all share a hobby of video games. Everyone is super cool, and I love the crowd, energy and everything that’s going on around it,” Paz said.

Geibel expressed plans to do takeovers at Muller’s Pub, and do as much as they can to involve the community in upcoming events. 

All in all, the hope is for esports to continue to thrive at Rider, and for success in their competitive season.

Geibel said, “My main goal right now is to keep Rider esports afloat, we are in such a great position right now, and my goal going into next year is to keep it at that same level. Growing would be great, I just want the club to continue to thrive as it has been the last couple years.”