Niner Esports
Your home for gaming on campus!
About
Organization History
Niner Esports was founded in 2015 as a League of Legends club. Soon, involvement took off and the club was converted into a larger Esports club called “Esports at UNC Charlotte”. Seeing a drastic increase in support in following years, the organization underwent a substantial identity overhaul to become Niner Esports as it exists today.
Niner Esports Today
Today, Niner Esports is the largest collegiate esports organization on the East Coast of the US and the largest student organization at UNC Charlotte. We are made up of over 2,300 members and 10 collegiate esports teams including Rocket League, Valorant, Halo, League of Legends, Rainbow Six, and more.
Our incredible officers work tirelessly to put on events, such as LAN Parties, for our community to bolster involvement.
In recent years, there has been a tremendous boom in the popularity of esports. With that came a growing concern about the lack of diversity and its underlying probable cause: toxicity toward women and minorities. The popularity of gaming among undergraduates has skyrocketed. This means that the need for a substantial effort towards promoting inclusion among the growing population is more important than ever.
In 2022, Niner Esports became a finalist for Esports Collegiate Program of the Year at the Esports Awards in Las Vegas. We were the only non-varsity (student-run) program to make it to the finalist stage. This accomplishment made Niner Esports one of the top 10 collegiate esports organizations in the world.
In 2023, Niner Esports entered the spotlight once again when we won Esports Club of the Year at the EsportsU Collegiate awards. These achievements propelled the organization to relevance within and beyond the campus of UNC Charlotte. We now host events that pull teams from around the country to compete. Most recently, we held the Gold Rush Featuring Fortnite event.
Meet the Team
These are the hard-working student leaders responsible for putting on the events that our students love! Starting with the executives:
President | Alexis Diamond
Vice President | Scott Tran
Marketing Director | Mia Nguyen
Events Director | Anshuman Pandey
Community Events Director | Valentin Cannon
Treasurer | Owen Caprioglio
Advisory Council
Kevin Colwell - UNC Charlotte Staff Advisor
Jorge Sanchez - Alumni Advisor / Former President
Gidd Sasser - Alumni Advisor
Tyler Holley - Design Advisor / Former Marketing Director
Team Managers
Nikole Sazoncika - Valorant Team Manager
Alexander Johnston - LoL Manager
Jax Romero - LoL Manager
Brockton Packard - iracing manager
Paul Anderson - Cs Manager
Alex Howard - SSBU manager
Veronica Grider - Splatoon manger
TBD- Cod team manager
Alexander Clark - Overwatch manager
Gabriel Herterich - Overwatch manager
William Butler - RL Team manager
Event Coordinators
Nikole Sazoncika - Valorant Coord.
Ryan Slattery - Melee Coord.
William Butler - RL Coord.
Connor Babcock - FGC Coord.
Gabriel Herteric - Overwatch coord.
Omar Kamel - VR coord.
Alex Howard - SSB Ultimate Coord.
Sean Nguyen - LoL Coord
Marketing Team
Alex Negron - Marketing Anaylst
Emma Cathey - Graphic Designer
Alex Negron - Photographer
Rajeev Choudhari -Video Editor / Webmaster
Broadcast Team
Josiah Hemphill - Head of Broadcasting
Volunteer Coaches
John Padgett - CoD coach
Stephen Korenstein - Overwatch coach
Contact
To learn more about Niner Esports or to work with the org, complete the form below and we will reach out as soon as possible!
Our Teams
Niner Esports fields a number of collegiate-level teams that compete in various leagues including NECC, CLoL, CVAL, and more.
Valorant - Main Team
Team Manager: Nikole Sazoncika | nsazonci@charlotte.edu | nikoletta_Team Members:
Aidan Oback | aoback@charlotte.edu | .JustAidanCarter Goodwin | cgoodw21@charlotte.edu | FpsflairYousif Husein | yhusein@charlotte.edu | sifistakenJacob Turner | jturn129@charlotte.edu | turner4511Cesar Steven Govea-Miguel | Cgoveami@charlotte.edu | CeezxJiovanni Sumogod | jsumogod@charlotte.edu | .rutaJubin (Hojin) Kim | jkim194@charlotte.edu | pororofattyBenjamin Nightingale | Bnightin@charlotte.edu | Benn5030Matthew Yi | myi3@charlotte.edu | bladeefan1
Valorant - Academy Team
Team Manager: Nikole Sazoncika | nsazonci@charlotte.edu | nikoletta_Team Members:
John Shanahan | jshanah2@charlotte.edu | lilbabywipes69Jonathan Quinn | jquinn24@charlotte.edu | qsvvjaqLucas de Oliveira | ldeoliv1@charlotte.edu | Luk_kyJT Riddle | jriddl20@charlotte.edu | JayyJoseph Belala | jbelala@charlotte.edu | sepsunaDenzel Detwiler | ddetwile@charlotte.edu | denzvlrAhmad Mason | amason47@charlotte.edu | PrecyseEthan Park | epark23@charlotte.edu | mare4
Rocket League - Main Team
Team Manager: Adam Butler | CoolioplutioTeam Members: TBD
R6: Siege - Main Team
Team Manager: Nicholas Somma | Nsomma1@uncc.edu | NivozoTeam Members:
Malcolm Chance | mchance7@charlotte.edu | Tamayol hyaxkConnor Thomas | cthom240@charlotte.edu | lazyice.Jonathan Ford
jford67@charlotte.edu | reaper.117John Marshall | Jmarsh82@charlotte.edu | zjohnJake Blackwell | Jblac176@charlotte.edu | .jqeCody Pittman | dpittm21@charlotte.edu | Taln.-
League of Legends - Main Team
Team Manager: Alexander Johnston | ajohn432@uncc.edu | GenerrcTeam Members:
Ethan Park | epark23@charlotte.edu | mare4Erik Kirby | ekirby3@charlotte.edu | kerbie14Ken Vu | hvu10@charlotte.edu | ken.0_0777Francisco Alves | falves1@charlotte.edu | peppeogScott Tran | stran17@charlotte.edu | wannaseeatrickTrey Handy | thandy7@charlotte.edu | overperforming
League Of Legends - Academy Team
Team Manager: Jax Romero | nromerom@uncc.edu | DistellonTeam Members:
Vuong Nguyen Hoang | vnguyenh@charlotte.edu | SIGMABALLSJoseph Bostok | jbostok@charlotte.edu | vaultboyyoejRoymond Hoffman | rhoffm25@charlotte.edu | 295aminbaeJax Romero Miranda | nromerom@charlotte.edu | distellonJames Kim | jkim189@charlotte.edu | bigpiecegolem
Overwatch - Main Team
Team Manager: Alexander Clark | EMAIL | cocoamypebblesTeam Members: TBD
Overwatch - Academy Team
Team Manager: Gabriel Herterich | EMAIL | gorkyyyTeam Members: TBD
Splatoon
Team Manager: Veronica Grider | agrider1@charlotte.edu | superajokeraTeam Members:
Andrew Hooker | ahooker9@charlotte.edu | PuppdDavid Morales | Dmorale9@charlotte.edu | SpectracubeJerome Fennell | Jfennel7@charlotte.edu | JeromeandthespikeLeah Pasternak | lpastern@charlotte.edu | cheetopuf
Super Smash Bros
Team Manager: Alex Howard | ahowar58@uncc.edu | itsameyoyoTeam Members:
Vincent Vaccaro | vvaccaro@charlotte.edu | bigvinny24Tyler Bell | tbell43@charlotte.edu | jestreoverhaulRuben Munoz | rmunoz4@charlotte.edu | raven3765Nikhil Vasanth | nvasanth@charlotte.edu | nil312Blake Berrard | bberrard@charlotte.edu | bonk36Andrew Wilkins | awilki45@charlotte.edu | grandrew2William Schulte | wschulte@charlotte.edu | satanael49
iRacing
Team Manager: Brockton Packard | brocktonpackard24Team Members: TBD
Counter Strike
Team Manager: Paul Anderson pander26@charlotte.edu
SkethcTeam Members:
Alex Richards | arich125@charlotte.edu | arich9041Matthew Kohler | mkohler5@charlotte.edu | c1n1bunDevin Thompson | dthom118@charlotte.edu | aciriMustafa Poonawalla | mpoonawa@charlotte.edu | ZageRenato Laczynski Goi | rlaczyns@charlotte.edu | rlg
Special Events
The best thing about Niner is our ability to engage our community through events. Events featuring a wide variety of games are held throughout the semesters. We hold some of the most significant events at UNC Charlotte, with continuous event attendance of 300-400 students at our LAN parties. Each semester, we hold frequent viewing parties and two bring-your-own-system LAN parties. These LANs span an entire day and feature tournaments, giveaways, food, and a space to connect with likeminded individuals.
Today, Niner Esports holds the largest collegiate esports events on the East Coast of the US and is the largest student organization at UNC Charlotte. We are made up of over 2,300 members and 10 collegiate esports teams including Rocket League, Valorant, Halo, League of Legends, Rainbow Six, and more.