Passion Pays Off:
My Esports Journey

I’ve played video games my entire life; one of my earliest memories is sitting with my GameCube as a kid. With three brothers who were also avid gamers, competition was constant, not only in the games themselves but for precious computer time to play our favorites. In 2011, my oldest brother came home from college for winter break and asked if I had heard of a new free-to-play game called League of Legends. I hadn’t, but I was eager to try anything we could play together. I was instantly hooked. From that moment on, League of Legends became and has remained the main game I play to this day. Now I have 14 years of experience playing it.

Growing up, I dreamed of becoming either a professional video game competitor or a video game developer. I followed the professional League of Legends scene closely and often imagined myself onstage competing. My older brother had always been better than I was, and in 2018 he earned a scholarship to play League of Legends at Harrisburg University. I was in awe. His school hosted a national collegiate tournament and even brought in a pro player I admired, along with a professional shoutcaster, to commentate the matches I had followed for years. I attended the event and was ecstatic to watch my brother play on stage, even though his team ultimately lost to Columbia College.

After graduating high school in 2018, I attended a local community college to save money. I had always been an above average League of Legends player, ranking in the top 3% at the time (Diamond V). When my brother told me that his university was hosting tryouts and that I needed to reach Diamond I to qualify, I committed fully to the challenge. Over the next nine days, I played for 90 hours to raise my rank, and to my amazement, I made it and earned a spot in the tryouts. Although my rapid climb didn’t prepare me for coordinated competitive play, much like the leap from high school to college sports, I refused to be discouraged. Instead, the experience motivated me even more. Within three months of not being selected, I had climbed from the top 3% of players (around 45,000th) to the top 0.01% (approximately 300th). I then began streaming my gameplay on Twitch under my in game name, Aizo.

When Covid hit in 2020, my school year was canceled, leaving me with nothing to do but stay home, play on my computer, and continue streaming on Twitch. While many people felt confined during those months, I was thriving. I had gained enough success and recognition for people in the League community to know who I was. In May 2020, I was offered multiple tryout opportunities at universities across the United States. That summer, I joined Columbia College in Missouri on a full ride scholarship to continue my education. My team went on to place in the top eight in the national tournament. I learned a great deal from that first team, and I will always cherish the experience.

After two successful years at Columbia College, I decided to change my major from Computer Science to Management Information Systems. I realized that my strengths were in interpersonal communication and people focused work, which aligned more naturally with MIS. To make that transition, I transferred to Northwood University on another full ride scholarship. After entering Columbia College as a rookie and gaining valuable experience, I was now joining a school known for its elite esports program, though it had not yet been highly competitive in League of Legends. I was recruited as a respected player to help bring in other top level talent and build a nationally competitive program. I was proud of the team we assembled, and we placed in the top eight nationally, matching the success of the program I had first joined as a rookie. And that was only the first year.

In my second year at Northwood, my team continued to improve. We attended a tournament hosted by the University of Illinois Urbana–Champaign and won first place. Although it wasn’t the main national tournament, it was the first time my team and I had taken first, and standing on a large stage in the center of a stadium made the moment feel surreal. After that event, we went on a true Cinderella-style run through the national tournament. Analysts considered us underdogs, predicting we would finish around the top sixteen. Instead, we exceeded every expectation. We defeated the projected number two team, Ole Miss, with a decisive 3–0 victory in our top eight match, sending us into the top six. We then faced the projected number four team, Fisher College, and won a nail-biting 3–2 series. Those matches remain some of the most exciting and rewarding moments of my life, a testament to how well our team came together. Our underdog run eventually ended with a loss to the future tournament champions, St. Louis University, in the top four, but by then we had far surpassed what anyone predicted. A few weeks later, I graduated with my bachelor’s degree in Management Information Systems.

With my bachelor’s degree completed and feeling proud of my accomplishments at Northwood, I decided to continue my education at the Savannah College of Art and Design. I knew how fortunate I was to pursue my education while playing a game I loved, and it felt only right to honor my younger self’s dream by continuing through a master’s program while I still had the opportunity. I began my M.A. in Design Management in fall 2024. SCAD had not previously ranked nationally in League of Legends, so I was excited for another chance to help build a competitive program. This experience brought a new challenge. At Northwood, I had helped recruit veteran players with competitive experience like my own, but at SCAD I played mostly with rookies. It gave me insight into what my former teammates must have felt when I first joined as a rookie myself. Despite our inexperience, we placed in the top twelve in the national tournament, marking the first time SCAD had competed and earned a national ranking in League of Legends. I felt proud that my team of rookies had learned so much in so little time.

Looking back on my journey in esports, I am incredibly proud and grateful. I had the opportunity to live out my childhood dream, competing at a high level in a game I loved. Along the way, I made lifelong friends, worked with some of the strongest players in the country, and learned meaningful lessons about teamwork, perseverance, and leadership. Esports has shaped who I am today, and I would encourage anyone to pursue their passion with the same dedication and heart. If you're interested in learning more about esports, please feel free to ask me about it, I love talking about it and sharing my experiences!