RCC Esports - UNDEFEATED - To Host Arena Grand Opening May 10

Esports was launched at RCC in the spring of 2021, and in their second season competing in the NJCAAE, the SUNY Rockland Hawks Rainbow Six team went undefeated with a record 8-0, which earned them the #1 seed going into the playoffs. Competing against schools from all over the country, the Hawks never dropped a game making them the undisputed team to beat.

Now the Esports Arena is open for business, providing a place for teamwork, comradery, and the ability to play on a high-end gaming PC. To celebrate, there will be a ribbon cutting ceremony followed by a gaming tournament where staff, faculty and students will face off against the esports players in their own game: Rocket League. The event will be held on May 10, 2022, at 3pm, in the new Esports Arena room in the Student Union, Room 3101.

Gabe Cohen, a Psychology major at Rockland Community College, started classes in the Fall of 2020–right in the middle of the pandemic–and was only taking online classes. In his Spring semester, he heard that RCC was starting an Esports team and jumped at the opportunity.

“Joining the Esports team gave me the chance to make friends and hang out with people I would’ve otherwise never met because of online classes,” said Cohen.” We’ve been able to create our own community here at RCC through Discord and our Coaches. It really helps provide a sense of belonging.”

This past semester, the RCC Esports team participated in Super Smash Bros; Call of Duty: Warzone; Hearthstone; Rocket League; and FIFA.

“The team had been playing remotely, but now we have the ability for everyone to be in the same room using the same technology.” says Dylan Griffith, Esports Coach. “It is a great step forward in making this team the top team at RCC, but it is more than just a place to play games. Before students enter the real world, they will need to know how to work with others in stressful and sometimes very fast-paced environments. Being part of an esports team helps you learn how other people work and how to work with them in these similar environments. More importantly for our students, esports is a place for like-minded individuals to come together and do what they love, which is game.”

In the coming semesters, the esports team is also looking to participate in; Overwatch; Call of Duty: Gunfight; Call of Duty: Vanguard; Valorant; NBA 2K; and Madden.

For more information on Esports and how to join a team, visit rcchawks.com/sports/esports