Varsity esports, Kingswood Oxford’s newest team, marked its first year with immense success, making itself well-known around campus and in the fall season picture. Upon returning from Thanksgiving Break, the team made it into the postseason for a hard-earned seat in the Eastern Region Playoffs.
The esports team, composed of 14 players, fielded competitive teams in four titles: “League of Legends,” “Rocket League,” “Super Smash Bros.,” and “Splatoon 2.” Esports is led by Head Coach Ryan Brodeur, who discussed how well the team performed despite a mix of veteran and new gamers.
“In our first season as a varsity program, this was one in which we needed to adjust to the nature of a full competitive program, including forming our identity as a team,” Coach Brodeur said. “At this point, all of our teams have performed well, staying at .500 or higher.”
Coach Brodeur discussed how each team had myriad successes throughout the season. For the “League of Legends” team, the highlight was a tough-fought win against The New School in Atlanta, Ga. After the team lost their first game, they were forced to strategize quickly and look objectively at their mistakes in an effort to learn from them. The win against The New School brought the five “League” players together and energized them for future matches.
For the “Rocket League” team, their 3-2 win against the Greenfield Commonwealth Virtual School from Greenfield, Mass., was the highlight of the season. The match was diverse in its scoring, having had blowouts, nail-biters, and, ultimately, an overtime win. This match showed how competitive and stressful a game of “Rocket League” can be, but also how skilled and determined KO’s “Rocket League” players truly are.
For the “Splatoon” team, the highlight was their 5-0 win against Granby Junior-Senior High School in Granby, Mass. It was the first time the team of four meshed as a group, truly understanding their roles and knowing how they wanted to achieve their goals. “Seeing them react to the wins in person and on-stream was awesome,” Coach Brodeur said.
The biggest overall success of the season at large, however, was the “Rocket League” team heading to the Eastern Region Playoffs after Thanksgiving Break. Though the team ended up losing in the seven-game set, Coach Brodeur and the “Rocket League” players were still ecstatic to even be a part of the playoffs, considering that this was their first season.
Several players on varsity esports stood out this season. Coach Brodeur highlighted junior Johnny Kung on the “League of Legends” team for his good sense of humor, his willingness to help new players, and his ability to look analytically at both his play and those of the team. Coach Brodeur also highlighted junior Captain Cole Ellis, who stood out on the “Rocket League” team for his ability to press the attack and push himself to improve, ultimately becoming a more well-rounded player in the process. Finally, for “Splatoon 2,” sophomore Esther Arimoro stood out for being a consistent, steady, and strong player. Coach Brodeur said that she always pushed herself to improve and that she showed herself to be a threat that was oftentimes overlooked by her opponents.
Overall, Coach Brodeur strongly believes that the season was a great success. “This was our first true season with visibility on campus,” he said, “and I think we went from a group nobody knew existed to one that everybody knows and is beginning to understand. We put together a strong program, we were competitive all season, and beyond that, we had fun.”
