With aid of Halo's Salt Lake stop, Layton's SSG hopes to put Utah esports on map

Jan 25, 2024

Estimated read time: 5-6 minutes

SALT LAKE CITY — Inside the Depot Center, chants of "S-S-G!" rang across the stage as a hometown hero made an incredible comeback.

Spacestation Gaming, the Layton-based esports franchise, had just completed a reverse sweep over heavily favored Optic Gaming in the semifinals of the Halo Global Invitational Salt Lake City series, rallying from a 2-0 deficit to drop Optic into the elimination bracket with a 3-2 win Saturday afternoon.

Spurred by the local passion, SSG advanced to the winners' bracket final against Sentinels. The winner will square off in Sunday's grand final of the $125,000 tournament at noon MDT in front of a sold-out crowd and livestreamed on Halo's Twitch channel.

For SSG, the win provided a much-needed boost in Halo's first-of-its-kind run in Utah. SSG's Halo team has been looking to make a splash with HCS' Salt Lake City stop, one of just three teams this year that was offered the chance to host an event — and that win must've felt like a cannonball.

In the smaller-but-growing esports market of the greater Salt Lake region, SSG isn't just battling on a screen. The company of 150 or so local employees, plus a handful working remotely across the country, is out to prove that Utah can host the top players in esports.

THE REVERSE SWEEEEPPP!!!!!!!🔄 🧹🧹🧹 pic.twitter.com/c3xXOecxLU

"We really hope to break some of the centralization that has occurred," said Brendan Valentine, a marketing manager for Airlock, or Spacestation's events arm. "Esports live a lot on the coasts, and some in Texas, and the middle of the country has been severely underserviced. We want to bring it back to Utah.

"We have these beautiful mountains, a great city, a huge airport close by; it's a natural fit for hosting great events here. I think we have an awesome opportunity, and we would love to step up and bring more opportunities for entertainment, competition and just fun. We want to make the mountain region for gaming feel seen and represented, that they don't have to go to California to see something cool."

In the shadow of the Wasatch Front, across the street from the downtown Delta Center — where Valentine says he hopes to one day bring a championship-level event — a sold-out crowd of just over 500 people crammed into the Depot for the three-day Halo Championship Series Global Invitational.

With the biggest teams in the competition, including Optic, Quadrant, Faze Clan and Cloud 9, more than 2,000 people also filtered through the exhibition next to the main stage at HCS' Underground row of exhibition matches, classic gaming consoles, free-play consoles and vendors.

Some travelers came from across the country, and one couple traveled from as far away as Norway, embarking on a 24-hour flight to Salt Lake International Airport before taking the short Trax ride into the city.

But the biggest impact of hosting an event like the Global Invitational may well be on the local population.

"Utah is very gaming heavy. It's one of the nerdiest states," said Valentine with total respect, "and I think there's a big gaming demographic that hasn't been exposed to competitive esports. That's what we're trying to fill."

The 6-year-old multi-regional gaming organization has sponsored esports athletes in multiple disciplines, though the focus has shifted most recently to Halo, Rocket League and Rainbow Six: Siege — where SSG won a world title in 2020. The company was founded by popular YouTuber Shaun McBride and angel investor Sean Holladay, and hosts a variety of teams, shows and content creation services including the children's YouTube series "A for Adley" that boasts nearly six million subscribers.

Utah is also a unique market, something Valentine said his company hoped to express to the national scene with the event's blend of "wacky stuff" and "something different" like a graffiti-tagged signature wall that guests are encouraged to sign and will hang in the organization's Northern Utah headquarters.

And Utah is emerging as an esports market at the same time the image of the esport athlete is changing. Former NFL star Chad Ochocinco has frequently expressed his admiration of esports athletes, and SSG recently signed former Green Bay Packers and XFL quarterback Kurt Benkert to a content creator role and an alternate to the SSG Halo roster.

"Ever since we started Spacestation Gaming, we've always had a mission to put Utah gaming on the map," said Valentine, a graduate of the University of Utah. "We're a space for esports, a space for gaming, and a space where people can feel safe and welcome while engaging with us. I think in recent years, we've seen it come out of the shadows a bit; gaming used to be the nerdy thing, but the stereotypes are changing. I think we want to make sure that story changes in Utah, as well."

Putting Utah on the map for esports includes a Jazz City edition-style jersey modified into an SSG jersey and merchandise featuring Halo's iconic MasterChief in front of the state's famed Delicate Arch.

But it also means showcasing the state to the nation esports scene, and making groups want to come back.

"As a company, we've always had a lot of Utah pride, and this is our first opportunity to put something on of this scale and prove that we can show what Utah is capable of," Valentine said. "We can show why gaming belongs in Utah, and why it should be considered a home for esports moving forward."