The Saint Francis esports team continues to make significant strides in the Eastern Collegiate Athletic Conference.
With a roster of more than 60 players and additional student support staff, the team follows an eight-week schedule during both the fall and spring seasons, followed by a playoff tournament.
The games that the team competes in include Super Smash Bros. Ultimate, Fortnite, EA Sports FC, Valorant, League of Legends, Overwatch 2, Rocket League, Hearthstone and Madden.
Ethan Wingard became head coach of the team in the summer of 2021 after participating in Smash Club during his collegiate career.
He has enjoyed watching the growth of the team and its improvement in the ECAC.
“We have an extremely large freshman class this year, consisting of around 20 new players, so it has been a big process getting everyone settled into their teams and competing,” said Wingard.
“I am extremely proud of the entire freshman class for their work and growth.”
Ethan Eckenrode used to compete on the team and has followed its progress over the last several years. He is also impressed with the strides that the program has made.
“In our first season, we’d come off a rough chain of defeats and had even gone against a team with a player who was ranked top 500 in the world,” recalled the senior English major. “We were all a bit demoralized from going un-victorious, but I wish I could have had a recording of the room when we got our first win.
“I’m sure people could hear our cheers from upstairs. I don’t think we ever went on to win through any means other than by default for the rest of that season, but that thrill was more than enough to carry me through to winter.”
Wingard also recalled some exciting moments during the program’s early years.
“I remember a particular time that our Overwatch team had won a playoff game and I was just blown away by the level of happiness and relief that was in the room,” he said.
“I also remember when 10 to 15 people were intently watching a tense, late-game situation in a Smash Ultimate game – it was very fun.”
While the team is primarily funded and supported through the University, it fundraises through apparel sales. The team also fundraises for charity initiatives, such as Extra Life. Team members plan to raise money for this organization again this April.
The team’s games are at 8 p.m., Monday through Thursday. This week is the final week of the regular season. Many of the team’s games are streamed on SFU’s Twitch channel.
