Esports Season Recap | Kodiaks first season comes to a close

May. 17, 2023 – The first full season for the Lethbridge College esports squad came to a thrilling close with all three teams – Valorant, League of Legends and Rocket League – making it to the Eastern College Athletic Conference (ECAC) playoffs.

In Valorant, a fast-paced first-person game, players need to have a good mix of strategy and technical skill. After an eight-game season, the Kodiaks team lost in the first round of playoffs against the University of North Carolina Greensboro.

League of Legends involves a multiplayer online battle arena. The game features strategic play and longer games. The Kodiaks won five out of eight games this season, and in a difficult first round of playoffs, were knocked out of competition by New York City’s Pace University.

Rocket League is a vehicular soccer game where players must show impressive technical skills. The Kodiaks team went 7-1 on the season and had an impressive run in the playoffs but fell short of a championship with a 2-4 loss in the Division “B” finals after playing six rounds against the Loyola University Greyhounds.

“These three sports were chosen because they all offer very different experiences for viewers and players,” says Allyson Cikor, Kodiaks esports coordinator. “Popularity in the professional and collegiate esports space has excelled because the games have a heavy emphasis on teamwork.”

The rise of esports has also sparked a growing interest in the K-12 space and Cikor says they are looking to work closer with local school divisions to help their programs grow and to give their student-athletes a pathway to the Kodiaks much like traditional sports programs have done in the past.

The Kodiaks are also promoting esports outside of the region, with the team attending the Alberta Esports Expo in late February. The event brought together gaming enthusiasts from across the province to one location. Throughout the weekend there were gaming festivities as well as education panels led by industry experts, including Cikor.

Another highlight for the Kodiaks was co-hosting the first Collegiate Esports Battle of Alberta alongside Keyano College. The charity event, which supported the Extra Life organization – a fundraising program of Children’s Miracle Network Hospitals – featured three competitive gaming categories, Valorant, League of Legends and Rocket League. Participants from various post-secondary institutions across Alberta joined the livestream, and viewers generously donated to the cause. This event raised an impressive $556.

Cikor credits the gaming community for this impressive showing of generosity, saying, “the support between schools all across Canada is amazing, and there is a definite sense of positivity and growth that we’re grateful to be a part of.”

Todd Caughlin, Kodiaks athletic director, was also thrilled with the esports team’s first full season and says he can’t wait to see what happens next.

“What an absolutely amazing inaugural season in a sport that is growing faster than anyone would have imagined,” says Caughlin. “Establishing any new sport brings challenges and unique learning opportunities and building an esports program definitely lived up to this challenge, but what an incredible opportunity for the college, the current roster and our future Kodiaks!”

Esports officially became part of the Kodiaks Athletics family over in the summer of 2022. Players are eligible for the same access to services and opportunities that student-athletes from all other teams enjoy, including potential scholarships, gym access, jerseys, gear, and health and academic supports. And as with other Kodiaks teams, coaches actively recruit future student-athletes from around Alberta, Canada and internationally. 

Going into the next season, the Kodiaks esports team will be transitioning out of the ECAC and into the National Association of Collegiate Esports (NACE). They will be joining a conference that includes more than 250 schools across North America.

For more on Lethbridge College esports, email lcesports@lethbridgecollege.ca, follow along on Instagram and Twitter (@Kodiaksesports) and catch all the matches on the Kodiaks’ official Twitch page (twitch.tv/kodiakesports).

Kodiaks coaches actively recruit high school athletes around Alberta and neighboring provinces.  If one of our coaches hasn’t spoken to you yet, don’t worry. Simply fill out the form (https://gokodiaks.ca/recruitment) and they would be pleased to learn more about you.