Who are the Pittsburgh Knights?

Currently, VALORANT is the eSport that I’ve recently been watching, as it is becoming one of the most popular esports ever, and our Knights are sitting ranked #14 in North America, earning $29k in winnings. They’ve been recently out of form, though, unable to qualify for the Stage 2 Challengers, but as an organization they’ve been staying relevant in the VALORANT community by hosting a monthly tournament known as the Knights Gauntlet. Depending on the teams playing in their tournament, they’ll receive about 1k-5k concurrent viewers. When teams like Sentinels or 100 Thieves play in their tournaments, viewership will rise to 10k-20k concurrent viewers, which is very good compared to most streams on Twitch.  VALORANT as whole, when they broadcast their major events, receive somewhere from 35k-300k concurrent viewers depending on who’s playing and at what stage of the competition they’re at (for example the grand final vs pool play; the grand final will have over 300k people watching).

They’re roster has a LOT of talent and when they get going they’re hard to stop. It all comes down to consistency at the top level against the best teams, and they’ve struggled a bit recently when it comes to closing out maps they should be winning. They’re roster includes Frosty (Controller/Sentinel), XXiF (Initiator/Duelist), Gengstah (Initiator), ban (Duelist), and skuba (Sentinel/Controller). 

For those that don’t know the roles of VALORANT, the duelist is normally the best player that can get eliminations, the controller utilizes smokes and walls to make it hard for the other team to find them, the Initiator uses info seeking abilities that allow their teams to gather information on where exactly the other team is, and the Sentinel uses defensive abilities that make it hard for the opposing team to get into sites or flank around. Ban, our duelist, is Averaging a 1.2 KD for his career as Jett (IMO, the best duelist), and has become our entry man on offense. I feel like ban might be our most talented player but Skuba is also very experienced and can also be considered our best player. Since the addition of the new agent Chamber, he is averaging a 1.4 KD, after only 20 maps. He’s versatile too, so if at any point they need him to play the controller role, as Viper or Astra, he’d be a reliable option for throwing different compositions against opponents. 

Ok, that’s enough VALORANT for the article. I told yinz I’m a little biased for FPS!

Let’s take a look at some of our best results as an org. The Pittsburgh Knights have won about $1.2 million in earnings across all games they’ve competed in the past 5 years.. 33% of that 1.2 million comes from last year's SMITE World Championship, which pocketed them $400,000. The Knights also have the current #4 Madden player in the world, Jonbeast, who has netted over $140k in winnings. Rocket League, Gears of War, and both PUBG/PUBG Mobile are the other games that dominate the majority of the earnings with each of those games earning over $140k+.

The Knights also do a good job promoting their brand through the means of local content creators, hosting tournaments on Twitch, and even some IRL stuff like hanging around DAHNTAHN by their car around Market Square. Sometimes they have Twitch streams with Wiz Khalifa and the Taylor Gang crew to promote events, raise awareness for real issues, and fundraise, all while playing some video games with a nice party vibe to it.

This next part of the article doesn’t really have to do with the Knights, but it paints a picture of how esports have been perceived in the past and provides some insight into why they have become a legit multi-billion dollar industry.

Esports have come a long way to get the respect they deserve. I felt the need to write this article because for the longest time there has been a common misconception that videogames are “nerdy” and the people who play them are unathletic and out of shape, which is entirely false. I recently saw an interview with the Big Diesel, Shaq, and the interviewer asked him if he thought professional eSports players are athletes? He agreed and said “15% of every sport is physical, and the rest is mental” he also stated that “If you guys say your athletes, I believe you, you are athletes because I cannot do what you do.” So for a guy like Shaq to say that these people are athletes, it should be a big enough vouch for the people who still do not believe. 

Another thing that doesn’t really get talked about too much is the potential for injury, just like in traditional sports. Esport related injuries can be detrimental to a players career, especially because most player’s careers in these games are not very long. Recently, I’ve seen it become more common for controller eSports like Call of Duty. As games are becoming more complex and detailed, so are some of the controls. In Call of Duty, for example, you are constantly pressing the thumb sticks in order to perform skilled movement in the game. One of the best players to ever play the game, Tom “Zoomaa” Papparratto, had to retire 2 years ago due to a rare cyst that developed in his wrist. Currently, Optic Texas’ Indervir "iLLeY" Dhaliwal, is experiencing a cyst in his thumb that has sidelined him for the majority of the season. These injuries can have a serious impact on their teams, because when he was healthy at the beginning of the season, they dominated and won their first major in over 1100 days. Ever since he’s been unable to compete, they’ve finished top 6 at the last 3 events. I just feel like if you’re going to make the excuse that eSports requires no physical activity for it to be considered a sport, then you should do a little bit more research on the topic. These players grind just as hard as any professional athlete, and I feel like it’s time to finally recognize them as ATHLETES.

The things people do not know about eSports are how interesting the storylines are, and to me, that’s what got me hooked. All these players are relatable because they play the games I like to play, just at a higher level. Once you get to know these players and their stories, it becomes just like traditional sports, and we cheer them on. As fans we share a connection with the team. Here in Pittsburgh, we know that feeling all too well, we have some of the best fanbases in the world. That is the power of sport, the way it brings us all together, it is unmatched. That is why I felt the need to share about the future of competition, via eSports, and that Pittsburgh has a team for yinz to root for! 

Honestly, It’s kind of crazy that I have become a die-hard Pittsburgh Knights fan within a year of discovery. I find myself rooting/cheering for them (out loud) and getting tense when their games get close. I even went and bought myself a PK jersey and I’ve never felt more swaggy in my life!

In the future, I plan on covering the Knights when they have cool events or a big tournament coming up, so be on the lookout!