CALEXICO — Recently signing the first Esports college scholarship in Bulldog history, Hector Murillo will take his gaming and educational skills to Manchester University in Indiana this fall.
“I grew up wanting to go to college, and so I’ve gotten the grades to go, and I want to thank my family for always supporting me with my gaming,” Murillo said, who picked Manchester from four Esports scholarship offers.
“At first, my parents were not sure about it, but my grandparents were…but once I got scholarship offers, they understood how big and serious gaming is.”
Esports is short for electronic sports, which are basically competitive video games. Murillo is a Calexico High Esports club member, which allows individuals and teams to compete against other schools.
Founded last year by Andrew Lara, a history teacher and avid video gamer, and two on-campus assistants, Erick Peraza and Andrew Alvarez, Calexico High recently defended their 2024 Imperial County Office of Education (ICOE) Esports championship title.
On the three-man Calexico High Gold Team that won the ICOE Esports title were Murillo, Abraham Moran, and Isaac Anguiano, utilizing Nintendo Switch consoles to compete in this year’s game, “Super Smash Bros. Ultimate.”
The “Super Smash Bros.” game is the same one that garnered Murillo his scholarship to Manchester University after Lara helped him enter an Esports college recruitment tournament.
“Hector is a fantastic player and has a tremendous amount of skills in Smash Bros, we had him enter the ‘Stay Plugged In Showcase,’” Lara said. “The showcase’s goal is to help colleges with Esports connect with high-level high school students who are Esports players.”
Murillo, who competed along with fellow Bulldog senior Isaac Anguiano, was up to the challenge of the ‘Stay Plugged In Showcase,” winning the Western Regional.
“Hector finished first in one of three online nationwide regional showcases, and colleges followed these live, and he received several college offers,” Lara said.
“It was a five-hour tournament, and I lost one of seven matches… I learned a lot from the loss, as I got blindsided by their move,” Murillo said. “But I learned from it, and I beat my teammate (Anguiano) in the consolation bracket and fought my way back and defeated the opponent who beat me.”
Murillo’s gaming temperament was his ally in the Showcase Regionals.
“I’ve always been competitive…but I don’t get discouraged or angry with myself,” Murillo said. “Gaming is frustrating, but I take a breath when I need to…for me, it’s always been about improving and learning and understanding my own faults.”
Murillo credits his Calexico High coaches for being there for him as well to help handle the Showcase Regional’s pressure.
“I knew a lot of colleges were watching me, and I was nervous, but my coaches helped calm me down,” Murillo said.
As for choosing Manchester University, Murillo’s decision was facilitated by the fact that MU is a smaller campus and has a solid Esports team.
“Manchester is a small university, and I think it will be better for me,” Murillo said. “I think they have a good team, and I will learn and improve with the competition, which is the point.”
Murillo was also drawn to Manchester’s Esports Management minor, which he hopes will provide him with the tools and experience for career opportunities in the growing $12 billion global Esports and competitive gaming industry.
For Lara, the message that Murillo’s scholarship sends to video gamers and esports players in the Valley is clear.
“Esports is a CIF sport; video gaming is a big business. For parents who don’t know, there are opportunities for students who game; there are careers and, obviously, scholarships.”
