Today we’d like to introduce you to Connor Stilwell.
Hi Connor, thanks for joining us today. We’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
I have loved playing video games all my life and I remember the days when I’d have friends over and we’d all play games on the same couch. We had maybe a dozen or more 4 player co-op games on the gamecube and PS2 to play together on the same screen, and we loved high fiving each other and sharing snacks. Sometime around the late 2000’s that seemed to change with the Wii and the PS3, because more of the games were single player or needed two consoles and an internet connection. The very nature of games seemed to isolate people. Not long after that I become a PC gamer primarily and it was even harder to share an experience on the same machine with people.
I always wanted gamers to be able to connect again in the same room, and that’s what led me to create The Esports Cave. If I could provide the PCs for people to play, then they can come in and enjoy a stress-free experience and just play games with friends again. I wanted to capture both the high energy and coolness factor of big tournaments, while also making people feel at home so that competetive and casual gamers alike will enjoy playing here. Over the course of 2018 we planned that environment; wide open floors with professional stage lighting in truss to create both the room for comfort and the high end vibe.
We spent all of 2019 searching for our location. It was hard because a lot of shopping centers didn’t want esports; multiple times we found the “perfect location” only for the shopping center to say they didn’t want “arcades” or “gaming.” One center said that this was a “family shopping center” which surprised us because we were building very much a family business. Finally in December we found a little spot on Anderson Mill Road, and we signed our lease in January of 2020. Then the world shut down for Covid while we were building our space.
We finished building out the space during Covid lockdowns. When we opened with 50 PCs, we opened to find a community more desparate than ever for human interaction. After being ordered to stay home with curfews, gamers were so thankful to have a place to go where we followed CDC guidelines such as reduced capacity and social distancing. We hosted events such as a Halloween lockin with little trick-or-treat stations that we set up as little haunted house vignettes. Later we had a Thanksgiving dinner event at the business for gamers who couldn’t visit home with travel restrictions. Overall it was amazing to see the community show up and be extremely grateful for a place to connect to gamers again.
As the world opened back up again, Chaparral Ice wanted us to offer esports inside their new location in Cedar Park. This was too good to pass up, so we started building out our new location. In fall of 2021 we opened our Cedar Park location with 60 PCs and a streaming room for larger tournaments.
We hosted huge tournaments like Set Count which grew from 200 people the first year to over 700 the second. We also enjoyed offering a 20 team (4 person teams) Call of Duty tournament with massive prizing. My efforts of posting videos with drone footage of the center helped gain the interest of the organizations who wanted to do this. And we were still there for the community with monthly lock-ins and a full day of birthday parties on the weekends.
I particularly enjoyed when Esports Academy hosted a Fortnite tournament and had Typical Gamer come out to coach the kids and show off his skills. We also were contracted to host a Mario Kart tournament at Q2 Stadium with the Austin Auto Festival. This had been a dream come true to serve the esports community with both amazing rigs for casual play and the biggest tournaments around.
However, the building management reposessed Chaparral Ice and foot traffic for the building tanked. With problems mounting every week, we decided not to sign a lease with the building management. Our mission is to offer Austin gamers the best experience, and I did not think this possible in that building with Chaparral Ice gone.
It’s been a year of looking for an arrangement to fulfill that mission statement, and we’ve finally found what we’re looking for inside Pinballz Lake Creek location. This place has been a welcoming hub for entertainment for years already, and we are proud to work with them. I personally have been to parties and get-togethers there and we have always enjoyed awesome attractions and top-notch customer service. We aim to keep this legacy going with esports, and are opening September 4th with 20 PCs to continue serving the Austin community.
Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
The first major problem was Covid. CDC guidelines made it almost impossible to make people comfortable. During those days we followed all the guidelines including masks. Social distancing and 25% occupancy rules with curfews absolutely destroyed what we were trying to build. However, we learned a few things and improved our cleaning regiment. Certainly today we still use higher strength cleaner than we ever planned on using before Covid and make sure that every station is cleaned entirely after every use, so that you can feel confident about your station every time you play on it.
When we were in Cedar Park, there was problem after problem after Chaparral Ice was repossessed. Internet and power dropped on a regular basis, which means that our business couldn’t function on those days (sometimes multiple days in a row). One time internet failed in the building during one of our major tournaments! Another time, the lock broke to the handicap accessible bathroom and wasn’t fixed for weeks. Also parking was being more restricted because the building lost use rights on the parking at nearby businesses and so our customers had to hike. That was not a professional spot for us to offer a premiere esports business, so we left.
As you know, we’re big fans of The Esports Cave. For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about the brand?
The Esports Cave offers high end PCs for gamers to play. Primarily you can walk in and buy some time to play, either by the hour or by day pass. We also offer birthday parties for what parents call the easiest party and kids call the “Best birthday ever!” It’s not just for kids; we have offered adult parties together such as bachelor parties or going-away parties. Now in Pinballz there’s a Whiskey Bar just down the hall to offer the highest quality drinks with the highest quality play.
You should check out the calendar of events for lock-ins, community nights, and tournaments. We’ve offered Call of Duty and Fortnite tournaments that people have talked about for years. We’ve also welcomed the Fighting Game Community with a variety of games like Street Fighter and Super Smash Bros.
We built our center with stations in rounded clusters so you feel connected with your friends while you play, so come in and bring your fellow gamers. We’ve watched friends groups old and new, and parent-child play sessions alike have a great time since we maintain our computers and game library so well.
What does success mean to you?
When I was in high school I was in the marching band and the best feeling was when you get to the end of the year and play at finals. The thrill comes from knowing that you’ve left everything you can on the field; that moment was 5 months in the making for one show. You spent long days practicing music and drills, and countless band mates were alongside you giving it their best shot. Win or lose, we did our best.
The same thrill can be captured in video games. It’s a team sport when you go into the game, play your role and give everything you have. It’s not about winning. I’ve had games where we win but it feels unsuccessful because there wasn’t good effort put in. Maybe I didn’t play well, or the other team was goofing around, or we had teammates out of their depth. I’ve also had games where we lost but it felt successful. This might be because we played together and delivered some really masterful techniques. You still sometimes lose, possibly because you are outplayed or maybe you were just unlucky or victim to some circumstance. We can still learn something from losing.
I very much define success in these metrics. Life is a team sport. Just like in video games, sometimes we have a role to play, and success is when you can learn something, when you work well together, and when you’ve given your all. I look back on my first two locations this way. We did well, as a team and as a learning experience. Now that we’re setting up our next location, we have so much more insight. As a team, we will serve our community better than ever.
Pricing:
- $9 an hour
- $87 for 20 hours
- $22 weekday pass
- $33 weekend pass
- check theesportscave.com/services/pricing for up to date prices
Contact Info:
- Website: https://theesportscave.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/theesportscave/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TheEsportsCave/
- Twitter: https://x.com/theesportscave
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@TheEsportsCave
