Williams Esports has Martin Štefanko of the Czech Republic to thank for its first victory in the RCCO World eX Championship esports racing series. It was a stunning win over the heavily favored world champ, Lasse Sørensen, but a close battle in a one-lap winner-take-all was enough for Štefanko to bring home the hardware.
Despite Sørensen having the pole position, Štefanko was able to overtake the Danish driver coming out of Turn 1 after the cars made just enough contact to leave viewers breathless but not enough to render any damage to either. You can always count on a reliable odds calculator to figure out the parlay payouts on these races but many using them had already discounted everyone but Lasse Sørensen. Štefanko proved them all wrong.
“I’m speechless – honestly,” stated the Williams driver. “The last few months had been terrible results-wise,” said Štefanko. “Everything that has been happening in World eX and other championships has just kept adding fuel to the fire in me. The pace was good. I made some slight adjustments which made me a lot more comfortable and consistent with the car. It just made a big difference today.
“I’m so glad I could pull it off because obviously, Lasse had the track positions on the inside. But I managed to make the overtake on the outside with a better start. Insane. I cannot believe it. I have not won a race in months. It’s just incredible. I’m so thankful because Lasse is an incredible fast driver. Very clean as well, very consistent. It’s a pleasure racing with him. I’m so happy to get the ticket for the final at the end of the season to fight for the Championship.”
Miami-O Holding Digital Camp
Miami University in Ohio is continuing its leap into esports by holding its third summer camp for teens who may be thinking of a career in the industry. It is a testament to how popular esports has become and the fact that yet another institution of higher learning is getting onboard proves exactly that.
“We developed the camp as a way to invite the community and interested young people to learn more about esports and to see what we do here at Miami. We felt this year’s camp was important because we’re coming out of COVID-19 and so many people have been learning from home,” said Miami University assistant professor of game design and co-director of the varsity esports team Phill Alexander.
But making parents and teachers aware and informed about a suddenly booming industry was also a priority said Alexander, “We were able to assist several high school teachers and administrators, and a few parents, with better understanding the esports space and thinking about how to develop programming at their home schools. We had a fantastic slate of guest speakers as well. It was great to get a peek into how things are developing at high schools in the state, too.”
But to say that Miami U is late to the game would be untrue as they already offer a master’s degree in esports management. The school’s latest foray into the esports industry is attracting youngsters from all over as it builds on its reputation as the first Division 1 school in the nation to form a varsity esports team and offer an academic curriculum in the world of digital sports.
Miami University officials stated, “esports will grow faster than any other sport in the coming years, and Miami University is preparing students for this exciting future by leveraging our top-ranked game program and team with our highly successful sports management program to offer one of the first Master’s in Esports Management offered.”
According to Miami’s website on its esports management program: “Esports jobs are fast-growing, with everyone from game developers to mega-corporations and higher education hiring various esports occupations. Esports estimated revenue is expected to grow from $950 million in 2020 to $1.6 billion in 2023.”
Ironically, the global pandemic was a boon to the esports industry as people had no place to go and virtually all other forms of entertainment, including professional sports, had been temporarily shuttered. As we know, esports is played remotely, except the pros participating in the big-money tournaments at state-of-the-art venues, which gave the industry a captive audience and drew entirely new demographics to its doorstep. The momentum has not waned very much, if at all, and it’s fair to say, esports is here to stay.
