FAIRFIELD, Conn.—Sacred Heart University graduate Andrew Santiago ’20 has entered a career in professional gaming, landing himself a contract with an esports management company and already ranking incredibly high among competitive gamers. He can thank his skill, countless thousands of hours of practice and gaming over the years and SHU’s esports club for his success.
“I learned so much at SHU about esports, about the industry and everything that goes into being on an esports team,” said Santiago, of Bayville, NY, who specializes in the game, League of Legends (LoL).
After graduation and receiving a bachelor’s degree in biology, Santiago signed with TeamMETA, a Maryland-based esports management and development company. TeamMETA works with more than 150 colleges and universities, overseeing their esports clubs. Company representatives came to Sacred Heart during Santiago’s senior year.
“Andrew is an amazing talent,” said Christopher Leonard, TeamMETA founder and owner. “I know he’s good enough to play at the professional level. With us, he’ll be playing professional tournaments and getting sponsors. This is a good thing for SHU, for us and for Andrew.”
Santiago’s journey is part of the broader esports movement, which continues to evolve into a worldwide phenomenon with multiple levels of competition and millions of fans.
Many popular video games have a professional component. Competition takes place live in arenas or through online streaming services like YouTube and Twitch. League of Legends, Santiago’s multiplayer, battle-arena game, is among the most popular on the planet. The 2019 LoL World Championship drew 100 million viewers across multiple platforms.
In LoL, two teams of five players face off. Each team defends its half of the map. The goal is to enter the other team’s half and destroy its “Nexus,” a big building typically located in the back. Each player controls a different character, also known as a champion. Every champion has unique abilities and styles of play. Champions also can grow more powerful during the match by performing smaller tasks in the goal of defeating the opponent.
Players themselves can level up in rank as they compete and succeed.
“Andrew is currently ranked Diamond 3 and climbing,” said Leonard. “Only 0.35% of players make it to that rank. So, you can see that he is a special player.”
Fights in LoL take place across a series of paths or “lanes” that stretch across the map. Santiago is a “Mid Laner,” meaning he works in paths in the middle of the map. Like a shortstop in baseball, a Mid Laner performs critical duties at the core of a team. Santiago’s main character is a champion named Twisted Fate.
“I love the aura and presence of Twisted Fate,” Santiago said. “He has a lot of different abilities to choose from. His level of damage is often unexpected, and I’m able to abuse opponents with it.”
As in any competitive pursuit, achieving high levels in esports requires regular practice. Players of Santiago’s standing and caliber put in 10-plus hours per day.
“You have to put that much time into it,” Leonard says. “League of Legends is one of the most practice-intensive esports. You have to keep your spot on the professional servers,” which are online leagues in which top talent competes daily.
“It’s tough finding someone else on that level to practice with,” Leonard adds. “It’s a tight-knit community. They all practice together.”
After matches, teammates watch game-film replays together, breaking down the action like players do in any other sport.
“Win or loss, it’s good to go over the game film to see what happened, why it happened and how can we improve,” Santiago said.
Communication during competition is also key, as is cooperation. With five players representing five unique characters or champions, the culmination of all those unique abilities—performed correctly, at the right time and place—enables one team to best another.
“Andrew is a good team player and good at his role,” says Leonard. “In LoL, you have to work in unison with your teammates on attack or defense. In that way, it takes the same skillsets as a sport like football or soccer. Just take the ball out of it. A lot of the same coaching methods apply. A lot of the principles are the same.
Leadership and teamwork were two aspects Santiago treasured most from his time at the University. “One of my favorite things was the group of friends I made,” he said. “I loved how we would work together and overcome problems during competition. Teamwork is insanely important when you’re fighting together.”
Since signing with TeamMETA, Santiago has focused on preparing for all the levels of professional tournaments. TeamMETA has two full LoL teams that practice together. With esports online, these players and coaches are spread across the U.S. and Canada.
The SHU esports club sets groundwork for a professional training regimen. Participating students at the University practice with coaches for 38 weeks each year—including an off-season boot camp. Graduates like Santiago come back and mentor the next generation of aspiring players. Weekly practices focus on improving particular skillsets, as in any sport. There’s also an on-staff sports psychologist, plus lessons on proper nutrition, fitness and avoiding common esports injuries like wrist and back ailments.
For college gamers who are eyeing a similar path post-graduation, Santiago advises, “Just keep grinding away at it. There’s always a spot open for you if you keep grinding.
“Esports is still growing,” he adds. “It’s still a whole new world. Professional teams are looking for young talent now, more than ever.”
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About Sacred Heart University
As the second-largest independent Catholic university in New England, and one of the fastest-growing in the U.S., Sacred Heart University is a national leader in shaping higher education for the 21st century. SHU offers more than 80 undergraduate, graduate, doctoral and certificate programs on its Fairfield, Conn., campus. Sacred Heart also has satellites in Connecticut, Luxembourg and Ireland and offers online programs. More than 9,000 students attend the University’s nine colleges and schools: Arts & Sciences; Communication, Media & the Arts; Social Work; Computer Science & Engineering; Health Professions; the Isabelle Farrington College of Education; the Jack Welch College of Business & Technology; the Dr. Susan L. Davis, R.N., & Richard J. Henley College of Nursing; and St. Vincent’s College. Sacred Heart stands out from other Catholic institutions as it was established and led by laity. The contemporary Catholic university is rooted in the rich Catholic intellectual tradition and the liberal arts, and at the same time cultivates students to be forward thinkers who enact change—in their own lives, professions and in their communities. The Princeton Review includes SHU in its Best 386 Colleges–2021 Edition, “Best in the Northeast” and Best Business Schools–2021 Edition. Sacred Heart is home to the award-winning, NPR-affiliated radio station, WSHU, a Division I athletics program and an impressive performing arts program that includes choir, band, dance and theatre. www.sacredheart.edu