If you happened to walk through the bridge on Monday, Feb. 23 from the hours of 11 a.m. to 1 p.m., odds are you noticed the giant screen displaying round after round of Mario Kart World.
Organized and run by the Coordinator of Office of Student Activities Steven Karasewski and first year student worker Breidy Vazquez, the Mario Kart tournament was a hit. Between the students playing and the students watching with rapt attention, it made for a very high-energy environment.
Students signed up to participate using an online form that was made available in early February.
“I signed up online,” said second year student Avery Garcia, who was waiting for her turn to play. “I’m probably gonna play as Waluigi, but I’m already having fun watching.”
The rounds were commentated by Karasewski. Each match saw the maximum four players competing against one another at 150 cc.
The tournament was held to build hype around the upcoming Esports Center on Joliet Junior College’s main campus, something that has been in the works since the 2024 fall semester. The esports center will be in the T-building, in room 2021.
Many students, both attending and prospective, have been voicing their desire for a similar location for years. As it stands, JJC does not have an esports program, but the hope is that opening an esports center will pave the way for one down the line.
“People ask if we have a space for esports, video gaming; it’s just something I’ve heard a lot,” Karasewski said. “So about a year and a half ago, we put forward the idea of repurposing a room for an esports lounge.”
While it certainly isn’t cheap to renovate a computer lab into an esports center, the folks putting it together are being anything but stingy. It’s no secret that the majority of dedicated video game players appreciate a certain level of comfort while they play. The lounge is setting out to have nice, comfortable furniture, including gaming chairs at the computers.
Along with quality seating, the center, most importantly, will have an array of gaming platforms to pick from.
“There’ll be PC and console gaming,” Vazquez said.
Specifically, there will be 12 determined PC gaming stations, with additional open stations that will plug directly into the network in the lounge, according to Karasewski.
On top of that, the esports center will feature console gaming, with familiar and high-quality names like the PlayStation 5, Nintendo Switch 2 and Xbox, according to Karasewski.
The esports center is expected to be open sometime in April, according to Karasewski.
