E-sport is becoming increasingly popular at Széchenyi István University, thanks to the fact that the institution's sports club has a special division for e-sport enthusiasts. Students can practice in a modern classroom, where they can even complete the compulsory physical education course.

Széchenyi István University is open to new ideas and strives to serve the needs of its students at a high level in the field of sport as well. This is exemplified by the fact that the institution's sports association, SZESE, established an e-sport division four years ago, which is operating very successfully.

"What we have seen is that this new sport is very attractive to lot of young people and is spreading dynamically. This is why we supported it and took the initiative to set up a separate competition system at the Hungarian University Sports Federation. In addition, students can complete their compulsory physical education course with e-sport. This activity also requires serious mental and physical stamina, and it is no coincidence that those who really excel at it also do some kind of physical sport, because without it they cannot be successful." explained Dr. Tamás Gyömörei, Head of the Sports and Recreation Centre of Széchenyi University and President of SZESE.

A FIFA game can be played in the e-sport room of Széchenyi István University (Photo: Márton Horváth)

Ádám Borkai, the sports organiser of the Sports and Recreation Centre, said that the members of SZESE's e-sport division have achieved excellent results in the past period. Last year, SZESE came third in the K&H University E-Sport Cup in League of Legends, fifth in the Lenovo Legion National Cup, while Balázs Pálla came fourth in the National SimLiga iRacing. This year, the team won the silver medal in League of Legends at the K&H University E-Sport Cup, while Zsolt Balogh won the FIFA23 tournament.

High-end racing simulators are popular among students (Photo: Csaba József Májer)

Ádám Borkai added: the success is largely due to the fact that the university has set up a state-of-the-art e-sport room with computers, consoles and high-end racing simulators. The high-quality equipment allows students to train for competitions, but also to get acquainted with the sport as beginners.

Visitors - who can be both students and outsiders - can play games such as FIFA, Valorant, League of Legends and Rocket League. The room can also be rented out for team-building sessions and birthday parties.

The e-sport room can be used by SZESE members as well as outsiders (Photo: Csaba József Májer)