Following the departure of esports coach Josh Sides at the end of 2021, Winthrop esports teams have continued this year with the oversight of Winthrop interim athletic director Chuck Rey.
“Since we do not have a head coach, we have been running things like it is a representative democracy,” said Brock “Twice” Cheung, a member of the Valorant team. “Each team within Winthrop Esports has its own representative, and as a representative, I am just one part of the decision-making process regarding program–wide issues.”
In addition to Rey’s daily duties as interim athletic director, Cheung said that “he still gives Esports the special care we need during this transition period and has been our biggest advocate to the current president of the school.”
Although the details are not allowed to be released, Cheung said: “Chuck Rey has pushed for a lot of things we have wanted in terms of funding and conversations have progressed. I’m not allowed to specify what things are going on in the background, however, they are all great for the program’s future and they wouldn’t be possible without Chuck Rey.”
The only Winthrop Esports team that is currently competing is the League of Legends team. They will be competing during the weekend of April 23 and 24, along with the weekend of April 30 and May 1. They will be competing in order to make it to the quarterfinals and possibly go to Los Angeles to play at the Riot Games studio during the summer.
In addition to the competitions occurring soon, the team plans to travel to St. Louis in July to compete in a tournament.
“We have gotten a lot of new members now and it has resulted in the team being a lot more fun,” said Jacob “FrostForest” Chan, the captain of the League of Legends team. “Not as many people were here during the spring semester due to Covid, so these past two semesters have been really fun for me.”
This year, what with the loss of the Winthrop Esports coach, the team overall has been putting the League of Legends team and its accomplishments as the priority.
“Overall, this transition period has had its bumps, but we are stable,” Cheung said. “I’m graduating this semester so I will no longer be a part of the program after I graduate, but I’m sure within the next year it will be back to its peak.”
