eSports community continues business as normal, despite COVID-19

ELKHART COUNTY, Ind. -- Despite COVID-19 resulting in the cancellation and postponement of seemingly every major sporting event in the country, eSports athletes are at home continuing business as usual.

“You cut that eight hours of school out and you cut all those practice hours out and what do you have? You just have empty space where for me it’s getting better at my craft, my game.” Goshen High School junior Gavin Fulkerson said.

Fulkerson is among students across the country who participates in online learning, due to their schools transitioning classes to online.

“On a normal basis [I play] a few hours a day, two or three maybe,” Fulkerson said. “Mixing in everything that I have to do with the day, but with self-isolation and being in the house it’s gotten pretty high sometimes eight hours a day maybe more.”

Steven Robinson Jr., Director of eSports for the Elkhart Community Schools, said because everyone is staying home, some of his athletes don’t even leave their computer.

“You shut the whole NBA season down, MLB opening day got pushed back, all of this stuff happening is happening and eSports is like ‘we still having a tournament this weekend so we're going to keep making money and keep moving forward.’” Robinson said.