Bernard Mafei was once ranked number one in Canada for the Nintendo fighting game Super Smash Bros. Melee and built Humber Esports into a titan.
He’s been employed as the Senior Administrator for Humber Esports for only a year, but Mafei, 34, has been playing since he was 14. So, it’s no surprise he grew up with a passion for esports.
Michael “Mikey” Mangabay, part-time Creative Lead for the organization and ex-varsity player at Humber for the first-person shooter game Valorant, said Mafei’s presence impacted the polytechnic’s esports organization.
“It wasn’t until Bernard came in and brought Humber Esports back up into what it was supposed to be,” Mangabay said.
The organization currently houses five varsity teams. Of the five, two stood out the most.
The Super Smash Bros. Ultimate team won first place at the NACE Open Plus Divisional Finals last April.
NACE, or the National Association of Collegiate Esports, is a series of competitions that host leagues for different games.
Run by the largest collegiate esports organization in North America, Playfly College Esports, it was the first league in the varsity team to win a championship.
Lina Shim, the team lead and self-described super manager for the varsity teams, said the experience was fulfilling for the team.
“Even though it's not necessarily the biggest competition in the country or anything, it still felt really good to celebrate with them that way,” Shim said.
The Valorant varsity team also participated in LAN ETS last June, an annual event held by the École de technologie supérieure (ETS) in Montreal, considered the biggest Local Area Network event in Canada.
The team’s participation was a memorable experience for many staff in the organization. Mangabay said the vlog he created about the event was his most ambitious endeavour that year, adding that he wanted to continue making similar content this year.
These accomplishments ultimately led to Esport Canada, a not-for-profit organization that champions collegiate esports organizations, announcing in March that Humber Esports was recognized as the 12th varsity program in the country.
The announcement said it only took five months for Humber Esports to secure the recognition, which is the fastest for a post-secondary program.
The varsity teams weren’t the only ones to thrive within the last year. The more casual side of the organization, the Humber Gaming Club, has been hard at work.
Club president Lanvy Nguyen said the club has been focusing on new ways to bring casual and competitive gamers together.
“Everyone’s accepted, everyone can join, right? All you have to do is join our Discord and you’re basically in for the ride,” she said.
Nguyen said the Humber Gaming Discord server currently houses more than 1,400 students.
The Humber Gaming Club also held events such as Humber Hitfest, a weekly tournament for fighting game enthusiasts to play together and compete in a casual environment. As of now, both the Gaming Club and varsity teams are anticipating more exciting content for this coming year.
Although it was mentioned that there were five varsity teams, there originally were only four. Mafei said there are now five varsity teams with this year’s introduction of the Rocket League into its line-up.
Rocket League is a game where soccer is played with a vehicle.
Mafei said that this year, they would introduce a fighting game academy. Instead of consisting of a varsity team, players are welcome to apply now to compete in any fighting game leagues under the Humber Esports association.
Additionally, the Humber Esports teams are currently in the process of looking for players and coaches. Mafei said this would be the first year that varsity coaches would be considered a work-study position.
Mafei said the organization would have partners and platforms to train the coaches, so as not to put too much pressure on people interested in applying for the position.
Those interested in any of these opportunities can apply through the links available through the Humber Esports linktree.
As for the varsity teams, Shim said she has planned more intimate developmental schedules. She said she has something planned that will be announced around the end of October or November of this year that she can’t talk about yet.
Nguyen said the Gaming Club is in the process of finding a space where PC and console gamers can mingle.
She said she wants to host online and in-person events to boost community engagement. Nguyen said the majority of what they have planned would be announced sometime after reading week, or by the winter semester at the latest.
Mafei said companies reached out to Humber Polytechnic to host events similar to Electric Clash for their world tours.
Electric Clash was a world tour competition for TEKKEN 8, a side-scroller fighting game hosted by its developer, Bandai Namco, last April. Humber Polytechnic was the first stop and the first school to host a world tour stop.
For now, Mafei hopes people will continue to keep an eye on the growth of Humber Esports.
“So, we are one of the few schools that have any support from the college, so we're in a really good place,” he said. “Humber Esports is something to watch.”
