Trojan Esports and SC Esports announced on Friday, September 27, that they are merging to form USC Esports, revitalizing the discipline on campus.
For years USC has had two esports clubs, with conflicting thoughts about how the discipline should operate at USC.
With this merger, instead of two independent entities planning and hosting their own events, all esports and gaming events will be centralized, allowing for easier access.
Initial Conflicts:
Since the conception of esports at USC, there has never been a consensus on what the discipline should look like. For years now, the USC esports community has been split between two student-run clubs, SC Esports and Trojan Esports.
On one hand, Trojan Esports, believed that esports should be all about competition, fielding multiple Varsity and JV teams in titles like Overwatch 2, League of Legends, Valorant, and other competitive franchises. On the other hand, SC Esports was primarily focused on casual and community, as well as career, hosting speaker panels and casual meet-ups.
While talks have “been in the works for many years,” according to Aubrie Cole, Vice President of the newly created USC Esports, “[all attempts] fell through repeatedly because of differences of e-boards and what people [wanted].”
Despite both clubs’ best efforts at reaching an agreement, differences in vision and goals led to a disconnect that prevented a solution from being reached for many semesters.
“Historically, our orgs had conflicts…they happened long before I got accepted into USC,”said Lawrance Lui, Co-President of USC Esports.
Due to conflict that originated from the previous e-boards, the two student-run organizations stayed separate until recently.
Solutions and Resolution:
As reported by Annenberg Media, USC’s slow start to register clubs at the beginning of the semester led to many student-run organizations being unable to host official events early in the semester.
However, this provided a golden opportunity for Trojan Esports and SC Esports.
“[...]with the issues going on with RSO…this might be a good time for a merger,” Aubrie Cole stated.
Due to the slow progress of registering student organizations, Aubrie Cole, Camryn Lee, the other Co-President of USC Esports, and Lawrance Lui, put their differences aside and came together as one on Friday, September 20, merging Trojan Esports and SC Esports into a fresh new club with a united vision of the discipline: USC Esports.
The merger was then announced on the 27th.
Camryn Lee states that marketing efforts are focused on Conquest right now, which is a USC vs UCLA rivalry event taking place in late November.
In addition to Conquest, monthly events such as watch parties and industry events are in the works.
A Bright Future for Esports at USC:
One concern that Joseph Jacko, Program Director of Esports at USC, had was that freshmen were unable to be involved in esports, as the two club system was confusing and often led to many potential community members being turned away and losing interest.
“My personal goal and goal for the club,” stated Jacko, “is to have [the club] handle the activities themselves and allow them the space to do so.”
“Esports has had a reputation of not being the most welcoming space for women,” said Camryn Lee. “I want to create an accepting space through USC Esports so that more students feel encouraged to get involved.”
“I think it feels especially fulfilling to me that Aubrie and I get the privilege of being in positions of leadership this year for the merged org, so that other women students can see us and feel confident that the esports community here will welcome them,” the co-president added.
Aubrie Cole expressed that USC Esports is “planning on doing a lot more non-esports events, maybe mixers and dinners” to promote the club as not just a place of competition, but a safe space to make new friends.
Now that USC Esports is united under one banner, it would seem that getting involved with the discipline on campus has become much more accessible, ensuring that current alongside new members may pursue their competitive and/or casual esports interests in a safe and healthy environment.
The recent promotion of USC to the Big Ten alongside the merger adds new opportunities for everyone to pursue their esports passion at USC, at the highest level.
Lawrance Lui has some concluding remarks for everyone:
“Watch our weekly streams, our teams play Monday to Thursday.”