'Be a little nerdy:' Gamers go head-to-head at new eSports tournament

Myrtle Beach, S.C. (WPDE) — This weekend, dozens of college and high school students put their video game skills to the test at the first-ever Boost at the Beach E-Sports Tournament.

The two-day event was held at The Hangout at Broadway at the Beach in Myrtle Beach, with a "Rocket League" tournament for college teams and a "Super Smash Bros. Ultimate" tourney for high schoolers.

Carl Everhart, a sophomore at the University of Southern California, goes by "Cats" in the virtual world.

I had some injuries growing up as a kid, so I wasn’t able to keep swimming and playing basketball like I was doing when I was really little. So, the competitive nature of esports, specifically "Rocket League" was really attractive to me and it's just been awesome," he said.

Esports have really gained popularity over the last few years. Jonathan Paris, the executive director of sports tourism with Visit Myrtle Beach, said they’ve been wanting to introduce esports to the Grand Strand because it attracts all different ages.

From Gen Z all the way to millennials, to Gen X; they’re all playing games. We were surprised about the data that even baby boomers are gamers," Paris said.

Eight colleges participated as well as a few local high-school teams.

There were even gaming broadcasters commentating as the teams competed for a $6,000 prize.

It’s all about what’s our mentality coming in, sticking to our game plan, helping each other whenever we start to feel a little down, and just riding the wave," Everhart said.

He said most gamers typically play alone in their room never meeting the people on the other side of the screen so it's nice to have a little change of scenery.

You’re with a bunch of people who love the sport that you love, love the esport that you love, so being able to hang out with them, talk to them, be a little nerdy with them, it’s all part of the fun," Everhart said.

Shenandoah University, which offers academic programs in the business of esports as well as formal competitive teams, helped organize this event along with the Myrtle Beach Chamber of Commerce and Convention and Visitors Bureau.