After a competitive 2024-2025 eSports season, the League of Legends team finished second in CIF, falling short to Rowland High School with a score of 1-2 in a final match on Saturday, April 26, at California State University, Dominguez Hills.
“Finishing in second place among all California teams was beyond my expectations,” League of Legends team captain senior Tim Lee said.
Tim Lee said the team, mostly made up of seniors busy with college applications and other commitments, struggled to schedule practices in the fall but made up for it in the second semester by practicing twice a week at either the eSports adviser Sonya Joyce’s classroom at Room 44 or at home.
“I believe [practicing biweekly] greatly contributed to our achievements,” he said.
Junior Joshua Lee also reflects on his growth this season.
“I learned how to be a better team player and how to play in a team setting,” Joshua Lee said. “I hope we can have a good team next year and perform well.”
Joshua Lee said the team hopes to take home the win next season and find new players to replace the graduating seniors.
“I am proud of League of Legends making it to the championship despite having been placed fourth in the regular season,” eSports adviser Sonya Joyce said.
OTHER TEAM UPDATES
The Valorant team placed second with a score of 0-2 in the High School eSports League [HSEL] West Coast Championship in a remote game against Mira Mesa High School on Wednesday, April 16.
Valorant team captain sophomore Nathaniel Mitri said their second place position qualified it for nationals, which will be online and take place from May 22 to June 4. Nationals will consist of teams across the U.S. and Canada broken up into three regions: West, which includes SH, as well as Central and East, competing against each other for first place.
“Seeing how far we have come in just a few months is very impressive,” Mitri said. “We went from being a team that relied heavily on single player performances and miracle plays, to one that can function as a unit and work together to win matches.”
He said despite scheduling and communication issues, players postponed games or used one of four subs. They competed to the best of their abilities, and they never lost motivation to keep going.
Top newcomer freshman Roland Andrada discusses the keys to success on match days.
“I learned that individual talent is not enough for teams to win big, and that taking time to practice is worth it,” Andrada said.
The freshman said the Valorant players aspire to make HSEL nationals again and hopefully beat their rival, Mira Mesa, next season.
“I also want to try to find more tournaments that we can participate in,” Mitri said. “Joining more tournaments gives us more value for the time that we put in, which not only encourages us to practice more, but also makes the experience of high school eSports more rewarding overall.”
The Super Smash Bros [SMASH] team also advanced in the rankings this season, coming in at third place in CIF with a score of 1-4 against West High School. Their overall record was 10 wins and three losses.
“I think the team’s performance was amazing this year,” SMASH team captain senior Joesmar Madrid said. “Everyone worked hard and played according to how they were supposed to.”
Madrid said the team struggled with the experience and skill gap between newer and older players, but they overcame it by playing against each other consistently and receiving feedback from chemistry teacher and SMASH adviser Alexander Hua.
“The players were really mentally tough, which was impressive to see,” Hua said. “It’s a really hard thing for students that young to have that mental toughness.”
Madrid said The SMASH team strives to climb up from their third place spot and win CIF next year.
Lastly, the Rocket League team competed in playoffs, reaching as far as the second round in CIF. Their overall record was 6-4.
Rocket League team captain senior Angel Rodriguez said the team faced scheduling issues, causing some players to be missing on game days. However, he said that he became better at organizing and reminded his teammates to have fun.
“As captain, I learned that in order to have our team play at our best level, I had to make sure we were all calm under pressure and didn’t succumb to nervousness,” Rodriguez said.
Like the SMASH team, the Rocket League players hope to win CIF in the coming year, the senior said.
All team tryouts will be in September, and the new eSports season will begin in September or October of the next school year.
