UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — Penn State junior Benjamin Giles (information sciences and technology) and sophomore Sean Lebovitz (criminology) have qualified as one of the final 16 teams in the Fortnite division of the Collegiate Star League tournament. They will travel to Atlantic City, New Jersey, this weekend to compete with students from universities nationwide.
To advance to the finals, the team participated in a 64-team playoff bracket from an initial competition with approximately 300 duos.
Both gamers discovered Fortnite, a battle royale game where up to 100 players clash to be the last one standing, through friends and enjoyed its competitive nature. After improving their skills, they decided to join an organization with members that share similar interests.
“I started getting better and I wanted to see if Penn State had a club that involved gaming,” Lebovitz said. “I realized it was fun to compete and play so I practiced to get more involved in it over time.”
Giles and Lebovitz can connect their gaming talent to their academic success because of their advanced understanding of important collaboration skills. They have developed their time management to balance practicing and their studies, and are both members of the eSports Club at Penn State.
“I apply what I learn playing games to classes,” Giles said. “In a team environment we need to have clear communication and an expectation of roles. You can take that outside of the game and into classes and group projects.”
Giles and Sean are proud to represent Penn State in the finals.
“This is an amazing opportunity,” Sean said. “I’ve never done anything like this before. I was extremely happy when we made it and I’m very excited to represent Penn State.”