St. Clair College: Beacon of the North

Crossing borders, continents, and competitions – St. Clair College reigns as the dominant force in Canadian esports. While the Gold and Green have enjoyed their fair share of victories in recent years, including NACE championships in Call of Duty and Rocket League in 2025, their path serves as the modern model of sustainable esports program-building.

Coming from humble origins, the St. Clair College (SCC) Esports program can be traced back to an IT club in 2006. There, the Canadian gaming fanatics would host local area network (LAN) events, where gamers would haul their computers to campus to compete against one another for small prizes. St. Clair also became one of the first college campuses to have a dedicated student gaming space — thanks to a partnership with Dell — driven by high demand for games on the study room computers.

Today, the SCC esports program inherits the legendary LAN celebration and is hosting the 20th annual No Man’s LAN event this March. This systematic, methodical, and consistent growth was all part of the plan for program director Shaun Byrne, a veteran of the esports industry. After founding University of Windsor’s esports club in 2011, Byrne continued his esports journey through private event contracting with other Canadian schools and leagues, eventually leading him to St. Clair. Jumpstarting the Saints’ varsity program in 2017, he has headed their academic initiatives and their rise to the top of Canada’s ranks.

Situated just a river away from Detroit in Windsor, Ontario, St. Clair can sometimes feel like an outsider in their esports circles. In Canada, traditional sports (and esports by proxy) don’t carry the same weight in higher education that they do for their American counterparts, so an unspoken tension has taken root. SCC currently exists as the lone Canadian representation on the NACE Board of Directors and has lobbied for things such as Canadian Thanksgiving recognition, among others. On their side of the border, St. Clair stands so head and shoulders above all other competition that they can sometimes feel distanced or out of touch with the rest of the Canadian collegiate scene. Concerned about the lack of competition, Shaun preaches interdependence and uplifting the schools around him, meeting with them consistently to strengthen their bonds and their programs across the Great White North.

“A rising tide lifts all boats,” Byrne reasons.

Shaun Byrne put it best when talking about St. Clair’s vision. “We’re not looking to become the Maryville of the North. In fact, they probably want to be the St. Clair of the South,” he joked. What he and the Saints are chasing is not trophies, but Byrne’s idea of holistic excellence. “The strength of the St. Clair program is that we are great at a lot of stuff, but we aren’t yet elite at anything. If you asked to name the schools with the best broadcast, there might be a handful (that are) better, but we are right there among the top. The same goes for competition and events.”

Among DivisionONE’s ranks, St. Clair remains a gatekeeper team, holding the keys to the top-three club – and wrestling with anyone who dares to challenge them for that spot. Through five weeks, their closest contender, Ohio State University’s League of Legends lineup, edged them out in a close 2-1 match on February 2nd – a loss that will likely play a critical role in deciding the final Spring standings – thanks in large part to the roster struggles that SCC has fought through entering this Spring. Role swaps by Mathieu ‘Matty’ Breton from jungle to mid lane and Kaiden ‘Feiz’ Choi from support to attack damage carry (ADC) mean that the team culture has been entirely reset, but the impeccable vibes that Byrne and Assistant Director Chris Funston have cultivated persist.

Starting support main Michael ‘Miracle’ Zhou, a core facet of the League of Legends squad, mentioned that SCC is his “family away from home” after spending the past two years as part of the program. Matty echoed that sentiment, citing that given the circumstances, “the vibes are at a high.” Mathieu, a Canadian native, also recognizes that despite their wider North American shortcomings, he has conquered his nation’s best on the rift. “Something I will always be able to look back and reflect on is that we are without a doubt the best team in Canada.”

St. Clair College has achieved these peaks in no small part thanks to its diverse scouting regimen. Chris Funston has made it a point to scout talent not just from Canada or even just North America, but to create a global esports hub on campus. Their NACE champion Rocket League team hails from all over Europe, from Italy to Germany to Austria, and their League of Legends roster sports a South Korean ADC by way of Feiz. St. Clair’s pioneering of international scouting has “unlocked” the collegiate ecosystem, according to Byrne. With teams like Maryville importing Portuguese support main Guilherme ‘Obstinatus’ Cruz and Mongolian jungler Ganbat ‘Yuuji’ Ulziidelger, it appears that the era of international collegiate superstardom has arrived stateside thanks to the advancements from the Green and Gold.