By GREGORY ZELLER //
The latest computers, the fastest processors, premium peripherals and, most importantly, an arena of their own – Stony Brook University e-gamers, start your motherboards.
The university this week unveiled its new Esports Room, a high-tech mecca dedicated to Stony Brook Esports – teams of intercollegiate competitors taking the virtual field against other top universities in hotly contested matches of Overwatch (a tactical first-person shooter), Rocket League (a unique combination of soccer and racing) and other cutting-edge videogames.
Remember Christmas Past, when you were thrilled to unbox an eight-bit Atari 2600 console and plug it into your washing machine-sized Zenith television?
Welcome to Christmas Present: Stony Brook has unwrapped a state-of-the-art stadium lined with individual gaming stations, each boasting an Alienware Aurora R14 computer (liquid-cooled chassis, platinum-rated power-supply unit, double-data rate fourth-generation RAM) and AMD Ryzen 7 5800x3D processor (self-billed as the “world’s fastest gaming desktop processor and first gaming processor with 3D stacking technology”), along with a Best Buy’s worth of top-line accessories: 27-inch, 144-hertz Alienware monitors, Logitech G703 wireless gaming mouses, state-of-the-art keyboards and headsets and much more.
Kevin Craig: E, for “excited.”
The space is “filled to the brim” with the best gaming tech money can buy, according to SBU Esports Coordinator Kevin Craig – equipment worthy of a hyper-competitive program recently promoted from a mere social club to the varsity level.
“[The] grand opening of our Esports Room was a moment of pure exhilaration,” Craig said. “Witnessing the enthusiasm of our community has further fueled my excitement to lead the future of the esports program, propelling us to new heights and ensuring a dynamic space for our players to thrive.”
Mirroring other college-level athletics programs, the Esports Room also includes whiteboards, couches, projectors and screens – everything players and coaches need for pre-match preparation and post-match analysis.
Stony Brook already has a running start toward eSports greatness: The university is a two-time winner (Spring and Fall 2023) of the National Association of Collegiate Esports Starleague Super Smash Bros Ultimate Champions competition, which attracts teams from across the nation and beyond.
Now, with its new Esports Room, SBU has taken a giant leap toward establishing itself as a perennial collegiate contender in what has become an enormous eSports industry on the amateur and professional levels, in terms of participation, fandom and revenues.
Big time: SBU’s now varsity-level eSports team paces a rapidly growing international industry.
On Long Island, the New York Institute of Technology, Molloy University and Farmingdale State College all sponsor thriving eSports programs; commercial Island-based enterprises also have game.
Thomas Lail, Stony Brook’s associate director of recreation and wellness, hailed the opening of the university’s Esports Room as end of a “long and rewarding development.”
“[The Esports Room] propels Stony Brook Esports to an elevated status within collegiate gaming,” Lail said in a statement. “This milestone not only marks a new era for our program, but firmly places Stony Brook on the map as a formidable presence in the world of eSports.”
