Photo by Brian Longval
If you know anything about Ottawa University, you will know about our rich sports culture here at the campus. What many people do not know is that there is a sports team that is almost completely blind to the naked eye. This one is the official Esports team of Ottawa University.
“What is Esports?,” people may ask. Well, Esports is competitive gaming. Many people may know of “Call of Duty,” but many do not know about the serious competitive side of a game like that, plus many others. Ottawa University has other competitive titles to choose from, including “League of Legends,” “Overwatch” and “Valorant,” as well as sports titles such as “Madden” and “Fifa.”
During the Spring 2021 semester, two “Call of Duty” collegiate teams, Ottawa Gold and Ottawa Black, were ranked #1 and #2 in the nation respectively out of the 200+ College teams in the CCL, or College Call of Duty League. Ottawa Gold went 53-0 in Map Count, placing #1 in the nation, while Ottawa Black went 51-0, placing #2 themselves. Ottawa Gold proceeded to go all the way and win two National Championships that semester: the CCL National Championship and the Activision Blizzard Collegiate National Championship. Both teams pocketed over $25,000 in prize money.
Esports is now considered a successful sport at Ottawa University. Ideally, the program can grow into becoming one of the most successful programs, sports-wise, at the campus.