Put-in-Bay High School junior and esports team member Joe Blumensaadt is one of five players selected from the Northwest Ohio E-sports Region to compete in the SPRING 2023 ESPORTS ALLSTAR COMPETITION on Monday, 17 April 2023. Team coach JR Domer explains, “Joe, nominated from among 1000 high school players, was chosen by an E-sports coaches poll as one of twenty top players in the state.”
The games will be broadcast on Esports Ohio TV!
Valorant, a 5v5 character-based tactical shooter video game (ESRB Rating: Teen 13+) involving both offensive and defensive roles for competitors, is the module in which Joe earned his advancement.
According to the game designers, “Two teams of five players each compete in fast-paced combat, attempting to either eliminate the opposing team or to plant/disarm a device at the key map locations.”
The Put-in-Bay School team, with seven members coached by JR Domer, entered the Esports Ohio League powered by Ultimate Gaming Championships in February 2023.
Blumensaadt, who has loved playing video games since a young child, says the opportunity to play on a team presents a whole new gaming experience: “It helps with my physical reaction time, noticing things around me, and with team building.” The game involves “attackers trying to plant a spike on the defending team’s turf—it’s like a soccer game with both sides moving at once, and similar to capture-the-flag. Teams have agents, maps, and arsenals, as well as specific character abilities, such as building a wall,” explains Joe.
According to statist.com, “esports is a fast-growing market within the world of gaming, mainly driven by increasing digitalization, the growing use of smartphones, and rising awareness of gaming. Faster and better technology opens up new opportunities . . . the market will grow steadily due to the formation of more teams, tournaments, and companies.”
Dataport.net reports 214 million Americans play video games. eMarketer research reveals “viewing figures for esports in the US have grown year-over-year from 2018. In 2018, US esports viewing figures totaled 25.7 million. This grew to 30.3 million in 2019. And 34.8 million in 2020. This year, US esports viewing figures estimates are around 39.2 million. This figure should climb to 46.2 million in 2023.”
