The Carbone Family Esports Auditorium at Utica University. /Photo courtesy of Utica University.

Utica University’s Valorant Esports team has made it to the Grand Finals for the second year in a row. They face off against rival team Southern New Hampshire University at the BrookLAN Center in Brooklyn on April 14.

With the addition of the Carbone Family Esports Auditorium, Utica University Esports entered the East Coast Conference(ECC) and now offers a fully featured tournament-ready Esports venue.

Unlike a traditional sports program, Esports is not separated into divisions. Regardless of the school’s size, they can compete at the top level. Over the past two seasons, Utica has competed against schools like Harvard University, Texas A&M University and Cornell University.

Esports Program Director Daniel Sportello gives credit to the new facility for the program’s recent growth and success.

“Before the facility, we were only able to work with what we had internally, and everyone operated out of their dorms,” Sportello said. “With a designated space for each team, we are taking competitive esports to a whole new level at Utica. Every practice and match happens here. The friendships, bonds, lifelong memories and team chemistry. We are extremely blessed to have one of the greatest facilities in the North East.”

Every season the Esports program holds multi-week tryouts to build their rosters for the upcoming season. 

“These tryouts are for more than just individual player skill, but also, their ability to play with a team, receive criticism, their mental fortitude, and so much more,” Sportello said. “We also select players based on a number system that is used to come up with an overall score. And then the esports staff sits down to talk about each selection. And then decisions are made.”

Much like the other sports programs at Utica, the Esports team practices four to five days a week for up to three hours a day. The teams also have hour-long workouts in the school’s fitness center every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday.

“Each practice consists of scrimmages, video review of past matches, and practicing strategy,” Sportello said. “Depending on the day, you will also see teams preparing for matches coming up through counter-strategy, specific film review on the team, etc.” 

Currently, the team competes in five different games that each have their own roster. 

The Valorant team, who will play in the Grand Finals, is currently 12-3 going into their matchup against Southern New Hampshire.

The Super Smash Bros: Ultimate team is 3-6, the Rocket league team is 7-4, the League of Legends team is 3-1, and the Counter-Strike 2 team is still working towards their first win with a record of 0-2.

There is a lot to look forward to in the upcoming fall semester as Call of Duty will be returning, and Esports will be getting a page on Utica Pioneers Athletics so that students will be able to view the team’s record and stats.