The Cavalier spirit is competitive in more than just the athletic scene. The PA Esports Team is a relatively new addition to the school that was formed in the 2023-2024 school year. The team consists of five leagues, and captains communicate and strategize with their respective teams in order to secure the victory across online games such as chess, Street Fighter 6, Rocket League, Super Smash Bros, and Mario Kart.
Sponsored by economics teacher Jason Barefoot, the Esports Team meets during One Lunch in room 205. All of the team’s competitions are held after school from home, since PA lacks a dedicated lab like other schools, Barefoot explains, and each league has a team captain that is in charge of management and scheduling for the team. Competitive statistics and important dates are recorded and tracked by members and the advisor, and published through Playvs.com.
Leading PA’s team of chess strategists is senior Eric Zhao. Composed of three players, the chess division of the team swaps out players between their two competition spots for the division depending on whoever is interested or available to play, explains Zhao. All of the team’s games take place on Chess.com, and PA has faced teams from states as far as Michigan, Massachusetts, and Ohio, as well as local adversaries such as Kempsville High School. In the Eastern Region, PA is ranked 12th in the chess division.
Zhao explains he has been playing chess since childhood. Favoring the Italian game chess opening, his current rating for 10-minute Rapid is 813. 10-minute Rapid or Blitz, are games where the total time spent during the match should not exceed ten minutes. This means each player has about ten seconds or less to decide and make each move.
But how does teamwork come into play for a game like Chess? Zhou says it’s all about the communication that follows a match. He believes that reflection after matches is the key to success, and carries it out accordingly: “depending on how the games went, we usually discuss for around 10-20 minutes on certain aspects of our individual games.” Zhao added, “speaking of players, we need more. So if you’re interested, reach out.”
Rocket League is a sport-based game developed by Psyonix. Essentially soccer with vehicles, the objective is to score as many goals as possible within five minutes. Propelling this team forward is freshman Liam Watterson, who captained the PA team that got close to making the playoffs this season.
Watterson has been playing Rocket League for about five years, describing his experience as “delightful.” Watterson says he’s improved a lot in the game through the Esports team by practicing with the other team members. He explains they prepare for events by going into free play, which acts as a private match that is unique to only the people queued for the match. It’s an experimental space that allows you to practice alongside your peers. This space is utilized by Watterson and others to practice strategies and moves.
The team aspect in Rocket League is brought out through its three versus three setup. According to Watterson, communication and synergy amongst members are thorough and clear. Through the use of cues and callouts, the team is able to effectively convey what needs to be done during a match. Even though the Rocket League team is out for the season, Watterson ensures that the team remains energized and motivated to do their best. “Never quit while there is still time in the game,” Watterson said.
Street Fighter is a Japanese-based franchise that is focused primarily on the series of fighting games developed by Capcom. The PA Street Fighter 6 team is led by senior Finn Lovejoy, and their playoffs took place in December, where they secured a victory, but were bested soon after. Finn and his teammates tend to practice against each other to improve, but Finn says he prefers to practice in online matches because “there is more variety with who you’re gonna face, what characters, and more.”
Finn says has been playing Street Fighter 6 for two years, and has experience with other installations of the Street Fighter series as well as fighting games with similar play styles such as Tekken and Virtual Fighter. His choice of character varies, but his main choice is M Bison. M Bison, Finn describes, is a character that is defined through proper spacing, the use of dash, which promotes an aggressive approach with the use of ground sweeps, and air juggling.
Super Smash Bros is a fighting game franchise with characters based on crossovers amongst several game franchises published or involved with Nintendo. Senior Harper Lovejoy is in charge of the Super Smash Bros Ultimate team, and is in charge of organization within the team. He explains has been playing Smash Bros for about nine years, where he typically plays as Snake.
Using strategies such as “strategically zoning”, Harper utilizes projectiles to overpower his opponent. He stated how he “liked to make opponents angry” through the use of this strategy. He says he also uses defense to his advantage, waiting for the opportunity to counterattack.
Mario Kart is a series of kart racing games that also pulls characters from various franchises owned by Nintendo. The objective follows a chosen driver that navigates the course of various tracks with the ability to use acquired items that can assist you in gaining a lead to place first. Senior Daniel Young has been playing for 8 years and is captain of the Mario Kart team.
Practice and communication between the team occurs through PlayVS, where they reach out to one another if necessary. Young shared this tip for the game: “If you get a coin, keep it and get another item, it’s guaranteed to be a defensive item like a shell or a banana. Then you can use it to deflect offensive items like red shells.”
As a relatively new team, the captains share that they are always looking for new members across the variety of games they compete in, whether they are looking to participate or simply seeking people to talk or play with. The team explains that the games mean a lot to them and “it’s kind of a pity to see only a few groups of people play it throughout the school,” Zhao expressed.
