In the midst of what many are calling this era the "esports winter", a bright future lies ahead as the next generation of esports talent arises from the collegiate leagues. We were able to speak with Northwood University's Coaching staff on transitioning from scholastic programs to professional play, tools for development, and details on their program. This interview was conducted with head coach Jacob and assistant coach Aden. For more information on this program, see the links at the bottom of this interview.   Q: First of all, thank you Jacob and Aden for the opportunity to chat with you both about your program, the team’s performance, and Northwood University’s esports program. Let’s jump right into the nitty and gritty right off the bat.   It’s no secret the state of the industry is in what many are calling the “esports winter”. How do you feel this has extended to the collegiate scene, if at all? Is it harder to find prospective players or find partnerships and proper budgeting in light of this?   A:  — Jacob (Head Coach) - Despite the state of the industry, collegiate esports is still thriving. A lot of players are realizing that competing in collegiate esports is a really good opportunity. Players can earn a degree while gaining experience to compete at the highest level, giving them opportunities on and off the field. If anything I would say more pros are looking at collegiate players and teams since the professional leagues are suffering from this “esports winter”. The level of competition is skyrocketing and I’m glad that more and more people are putting eyes on collegiate esports.   Q: Your player Jessie “JeJaJeJa” Valdez-Vallejo won the Ring Out, a B-tier major with a character many would argue is bottom 5, especially in the current meta. Aside from the typical Steve/Kazuya dominance, you have plenty of high-mobility swordies at play that make it very easy to box out Kirby.   How did JeJaJeJa approach these matchups? Was there any pressure from himself or the coaching staff to have him focus on a secondary to cover the tough counters, or was the faith rock solid in the selection?   A: Jacob - Kirby being a very rare character pick helps a lot. Nobody else in the US is playing Kirby at this level, so it is hard for those who don’t go out of their way to practice this specific matchup. Jessie also has so much experience under his belt that he can handle pretty much any player of any character, even matchups most people would consider unplayable. Jessie truly enjoys the game and continues to perfect every aspect of his play, and when someone like him is putting in so much more work than everyone else, the results speak for themselves.   Q: Congratulations to the students who have excelled and are now playing at an actual professional level in Overwatch! How wide is the chasm in skill between the highest level of professional play currently compared to at collegiate levels?   A: Aden (Assistant Coach) - Every year the gap between professional play, the top level of collegiate, and even collegiate as a whole shrinks. Back when the Overwatch League was still running, the gap was much larger and clear-cut due to player restrictions. Due to their contracts, Overwatch League (OWL) players were not allowed to compete in Blizzard’s official Overwatch Collegiate Championship Series (OWCC). This meant that the highest caliber of players available were Tier 2 Overwatch Contenders players, and due to the exclusivity of the Contenders format, the opportunities for both collegiate recruitment and personal player development were harder. This also meant that the skill gaps were much more defined. OWL players were close but still had a gap on the top 6 collegiate teams that were comprised of ex-OWL and top Contenders players. Then the gap between the top 6 and top 16 in collegiate was rather big where there were clear-cut “gatekeepers”, and finally top 16 to the rest of the collegiate scene was substantial. However, moving into the era of the Overwatch Champions Series (OWCS), FaceIt, and the open format, there is constantly high-level competition going on and that competition is easier to access. This new era of Overwatch esports has also led to newer players coming into the highest levels of OWCS, that have never previously played in either OWL or Contenders. The change to the open format of OWCS has led to more opportunities for top/professional players to get their degrees and play collegiate Overwatch, thus raising the competition of the collegiate scene even more. It’s hard to say where that gap is now because looking back at the recent OWCS Finals in Stockholm, Sweden, 8 players who played in the tournament are also current Collegiate Overwatch players, one of which being Northwood’s Flex Support player Cjay. Q: As a follow-up question with Overwatch, it seems that a lot of the more veteran players of Overwatch have been moving on to “greener pastures” so to speak; however, this doesn’t seem to be the case in scholastic programs, with Overwatch as popular as ever. This puts Overwatch in a unique place where sustainability isn’t called into question due to the popularity of younger generations, like the waning western interest for League of Legends, for instance. My question, then, from a collegiate league’s perspective, is Overwatch esports a lot less “doom-and-gloom” than what is often vocalized?   A: Aden - Overwatch has been a legacy collegiate esport from back when TESPA was still around, so as long Blizzard decides to keep investing in collegiate, the collegiate scene should not go away. Overwatch has a very dedicated competitive community, and as long as that community is still around, collegiate Overwatch is still an opportunity for people to get their degrees by doing what they are passionate about. The current “doom-and-gloom” from a top-performing collegiate team perspective is player talent, yes newer players are coming into the upper echelon of competitive Overwatch, but that number is still too small. When trying to compete against other top universities that will also have current professional players, there currently isn’t enough new young talent at the skill level to compete against current top pros or former top pros. However, looking into the future, that might soon change due to the previously mentioned rise in competition quality and availability. Q: When it comes to scouting for talent in college esports, it’s often not as simple as just looking at the top of any given ranked ladder. What are some ways the program is promoted, and what do you look for in students coming in from primary / high school?   A: Jacob - We have always put a big emphasis on recruiting players who have a passion for the game. Not only are these competitors at the highest level, but they will continue to go further than everyone else around them. When someone commits to a university team, that is exactly what you need to look for - someone passionate about the game and willing to put in the work to continue to improve their skills. We have also been putting together academy teams to help foster talent below the varsity level. If someone is right on the cusp of reaching that varsity level, we want to give them the opportunity and resources to grow as players. At Northwood, we believe every player has the capacity to be a competitive player if they are willing to put in the work.   Q: What is the team consensus on Overwatch 2’s competitive viability as opposed to Overwatch?   A: Aden - The Overwatch team at Northwood, currently has mixed opinions. The 5v5 versus 6v6 debate has long been going on in the community. If the original 6v6 format was brought back, a lot of changes need to be made, especially to the Overwatch 2 tanks. The team is interested in seeing Blizzard’s proposed changes for the upcoming 5v5 and 6v6 format playtests.   Q: VALORANT is a popular title in many scholastic esports programs, and Northwood University is no exception; however, I’d like to address the elephant in the room.   Counter-Strike is one of the most legendary esports titles at a professional level, but is hardly ever included. Do you think Valve missed a big window of opportunity by not providing a “school & broadcast friendly” alternative game mode for school programs like “paintball mode”, or renaming “Terrorist” and “Counter-Terrorrist” to simple team colors a la VALORANT?   A: Jacob -  The opportunity is surely there, but Valve will always stick with what works. This game has over 20 years of history and is finding a huge amount of success from the formula they have created. I can't foresee Valve making such core changes to their game for the sake of entering the collegiate space.   Despite being similar games, the communities of Valorant and CS are wildly different so it isn’t fair to draw too close of a comparison. Especially with Deadlock being on the rise, that is going to be the game to keep an eye on.   Q: It can give a coach and mentor a remarkable amount of pride to see their students move beyond their current league and reach the upper echelons of competitive play, but also bittersweet. Can you explain what it’s like to say those farewells? Do the students that move on keep in touch with the team, or perhaps even help mentor them in some way?   A: Aden - The farewells are hard, as a coach you build a relationship with your players, and it’s hard knowing that you might not see them again in person. Especially if they get picked up before they graduate. A lot of the players that have left Northwood, whether because of professional contracts or because of graduation, do tend to maintain contact with their former teammates and coaches, simply because of the relationship that was built. Many of our former players are big supporters of the program and will offer any advice, especially if they’re playing professionally. One of our former Overwatch players, and the program’s first professionally signed player, Landon “Landon” McGee, is a big advocate for the program on social media, and will even offer his time as a guest speaker for the annual Esports Open House, which the Northwood University Esports Program hosts. Q: Aside from the road to esports stardom, there’s many horizontal pivots in the industry to things like content creation, streaming, art direction, broadcasting, hosting, and so much more. Are these an emphasis as something students can aspire to be at Northwood University?   A: Aden - Yes! Northwood wouldn’t have been nearly as successful if it wasn’t for the student support roles within the program. Before becoming the program’s assistant coach, I was the social media manager and Overwatch team manager, so there are opportunities at Northwood for students looking to work in the non-player side of esports. Currently, we have been working on expanding the social media and content team for the program, and are actively recruiting students interested in being a part of that tea Q: I like to leave the last question as an open forum to discuss or say anything that you might’ve wanted to talk about that we didn’t cover before closing out this interview. Are there any final things you’d like to mention, shoutouts, ambitions for the future, and so on?   A: Jacob - Northwood is taking a massive step forward this upcoming year. We have a lot of very exciting things going on behind the scenes. If there is any time to have eyes on us, it is now. We are more motivated than ever to grow the program in every possible aspect. If you want to get involved just reach out to us! If you’re an aspiring player, coach, manager, media enthusiast, or anything else, we have an esports open house coming up. You can tour the esports arena, meet pro players, and meet the coaches. We are happy to offer opportunities to interested students involved in any aspect of esports and would love to chat about opportunities here at Northwood and in collegiate esports. We appreciate everyone who supports our program, from staff to alumni and everyone in between. Biggest thanks to all of the students here that make this happen. We owe everything to them and their hard work.

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