Ready player 1: DePaul opens Esports Gaming Center

May 3, 2018

On April 23, A. Gabriel Esteban, Ph.D., president of DePaul, and members of the university community celebrated the opening of DePaul's new Esports Gaming Center. Located in the lower concourse of the Loop Campus' DePaul Center, the gaming space is open to all students and contains 13 PCs, a variety of consoles and chairs to enhance comfort and physical capabilities. The center also will be used by DePaul's gaming teams for BIG EAST tournaments.

A. Gabriel Esteban, Ph.D., president of DePaul University, shares welcome remarks at the opening of DePaul's new Esports Gaming Center. (DePaul University/Jeff Carrion)

A. Gabriel Esteban, Ph.D., president of DePaul University, quipped about his prowess with the classic video game "Pong" during his remarks. (DePaul University/Jeff Carrion)

A. Gabriel Esteban, Ph.D., president of DePaul University, along with members of DePaul's Esports Gaming Team, cut a ribbon during the grand opening of the center. (DePaul University/Jeff Carrion)

A. Gabriel Esteban, Ph.D., president of DePaul, left, presents members of DePaul's Rocket League esports gaming team with second-place medals from the inaugural BIG EAST esports Invitational in April 2018. (DePaul University/Jeff Carrion)

A second-place medal from the inaugural BIG EAST tournament held in April 2018. (DePaul University/Jeff Carrion)

A. Gabriel Esteban, Ph.D., president of DePaul University, far left, along with DePaul Esports Gaming Team members, back row, left to right, Linas Savickas, Joel Alvarez, Hyun Son, and Ravi Dhebar, front row, left to right, Keni Roman, Esteban Perez, and Alex Vicuña. (DePaul University/Jeff Carrion)

Students battle each other and players from around the world in the center. (DePaul University/Jeff Carrion)

Left to right, Phil Wisniewski, Nicole Yang and Manny Grewal, are staff in DePaul's Information Services department who designed and implemented DePaul's Esports Gaming Center. The space, open to all students, contains 13 PCs, a variety of consoles, and chairs to enhance comfort and physical capabilities. (DePaul University/Jeff Carrion)

Aaron White, an IT project coordinator in Student Affairs, plays a vintage Super Nintendo game during the grand opening of DePaul's Esports Gaming Center. (DePaul University/Jeff Carrion)

Students play popular games such as Fortnite, League of Legends and Rocket Laegue. (DePaul University/Jeff Carrion)

Staff from Information Services team up to play a video game during the opening event. (DePaul University/Jeff Carrion)

A. Gabriel Esteban, Ph.D., president of DePaul University, tries his hand at a vintage Defender game. (DePaul University/Jeff Carrion)