TAMIU Student Earns National Gaming Title
As the eSports industry quickly surges as one of the fastest-growing professional sports industries in the world, one Texas A&M International University (TAMIU) student is making his mark in the gaming industry among collegiate gamers throughout the world.
Ivan Larumbe, a junior Kinesiology major at TAMIU, recently took the title of the NIRSA eSports Tournament Champion. During the three-day tournament, held April 8 - 10, Larumbe competed in the Rocket League 1v1 (or one versus one player) Rec Division.
The virtual tournament included 233 students representing 48 institutions from across the U.S. and Canada. Gamers played from either their PCs at home or their respective universities.
Players represented several universities, including Creighton University, Louisiana State University, Lubbock Christian University, Minnesota State University, Texas A&M University-Commerce, the University of Florida, University of Oregon, Xavier University and more.
This is the first time TAMIU has entered into a national eSports tournament, explained Tracie Vogel, associate director of Rec Sports.
“We have been working hard to get our University’s eSports Gaming program off the ground. We only just started the program last year and this is the first official NIRSA tournament we have entered where our players competed against other collegiate players. Needless to say, we are thrilled beyond belief that we have a champion on our first try,” said Vogel.
Since the program’s inception, the University’s Rec Sports has hosted around 20 campus tournaments that have been streamed onto Twitch, a world-renowned popular livestreaming platform for gamers. Currently, the University’s Twitch stream includes 152 followers with a total of 2,380 views.
The tournaments, which are open to all University students, include popular gaming streams like Apex, Call of Duty, Fall Guys, FIFA, League of Legends, Minecraft, Mortal Kombat, Rocket League and more.
Larumbe, who often games up to five hours a day, is excited to have won the tournament and noted the importance of gaming in his life.
“Gaming is important to me because I use it to stay connected to my friends, to de-stress and I love to compete,” said Larumbe.
In addition to his gaming, Larumbe plays intramural basketball and soccer. He hopes to someday become a high school sports coach and motivate aspiring athletes.
University students with an interest in gaming can visit www.imleagues.com where they can connect with fellow Dustdevils by joining campus tournaments. Students can sign up by using their University email to log in.
For more information on joining the University’s eSports gaming program, contact Vogel at 956.326.3018, email tracie.vogel@tamiu.edu, or visit https://www.tamiu.edu/recsports/tamiu-gaming.shtml.
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