His personal goal of obtaining a state ranking before graduation has now been achieved, despite the challenging balance between classes and his love for gaming.

“I am on Quinnipiac's Smash team and the program has given me a lot of opportunities to improve my skills in the game, meet more people in the scene and also to have that fulfilling feeling of competing on a team, just like any other sport,” said Diaspro.

Video games have always been a comfort for Diaspro.

As a young child, he would often play "Pokémon" and when the COVID-19 pandemic hit, his hobby grew tremendously. He was introduced to the online tournament culture during quarantine and immediately became invested. Once the pandemic conditions improved significantly, he joined local tournaments and quickly became addicted to the experience.

The eSports field is fairly new and unique compared to other sports, he shared.

“I have competed in a number of different leagues and everyone has a different way of doing things, with different schools competing in each one,” said Diaspro. “There's much less uniformity and everyone is trying something new to see what works best for each game. It's really cool to see how the method of competition evolves as eSports becomes a bigger deal."

His favorite character to play in both tournaments and collegiate events is Bowser Jr. While the character has its flaws, Diaspro enjoys the obstacle and it motivates him to perform better as a player.

“I've learned to really appreciate competing with a team in eSports, it's great to compete for something more than just me against another person,” said Diaspro. “It's also amazing to meet other college students equally passionate about this silly video game, I've made so many friends both on campus and across the nation from other schools through competing in eSports leagues.”

Not only has he earned the Connecticut title, but the Quinnipiac Smash team is also the two-time MAAC conference champion. Diaspro continues to follow his passion for esports and encourages prospective players to embrace playing during their college careers.