The Riverhawks Esports team is recruiting students to compete on teams that play Overwatch 2 and League of Legends in tournaments.

The team has too few Overwatch 2 players and is looking to recruit more players, according to head coach Conway Johnson.

Johnson reported having trouble finding new players because students don’t know about Esports.

The college made Esports part of AACC Athletics in February 2022. The roster consists of nine players. The League of Legends team has enough players, but because only four members are on the

Overwatch 2 team—and five are required—both teams have to play non-varsity, according to Johnson.

“NJCAA rules allow faculty and staff members to fill spots on teams for non varsity,” Johnson said. “So for the Overwatch team, I’m filling, like, a fifth slot until we can find a 10th player that fills out that last Overwatch role.”

Johnson is looking for members who will “put the time and effort into improving.”

“We’re not nearly as concerned about what level of skill people come in at,” Johnson said. “We’ve had people come in fairly new to games, and over the course of a semester, have them playing, you know, at a competitive level.”

Johnson added, “The big thing is just attitude.”

Players can go to CALT Room 215 to practice their gameplay with Esports players in an open lab.

Johnson said the main purpose of open labs is to promote Esports.

“We have seen an increase in recruitment for teams because people come in, they play, they get comfortable, are like, ‘I want to do this,’” Johnson said.

Neel Howard, an Overwatch 2 player, said it “really sucks” to not have enough members.