E-sports, also known as competitive gaming, has been around for many years; however, in January 2019, PlayVS announced that for the first time that esports would have its own high school league. Our school’s e-sports team, led by Coach White, has shown an extreme amount of skill, strategy, and teamwork in their first season.

League of Legends was split into three teams—BJHS Red, White, and Blue—while Rocket League had one. Players were assigned to teams based on their level of experience and how well they worked with their teammates. By splitting League into three, it gave newer players a fair opportunity to play. Each team practiced endlessly each week even with difficulties. “The team was fun, but due to the lack of powerful computers some days were tough,” rising senior Riley McGraw said. He was on BJHS Blue for the majority of League’s season before he was moved to BJHS Red. League of Legends practiced on Mondays and Fridays while Rocket League practiced on Thursdays. Games were streamed weekly on their Twitch channel.

The League of Legends Red team held the title of first in the state for the majority of the regular season and went to the playoffs with a near perfect record. Their first game of the season ended with Bob Jones having twice as many kills as the opposing team and they won their games in an average of 10 to 15 minutes for the first half of the season. Bob Jones’ Red Team for both League of Legends and Rocket League fought their way to the top and secured a spot in the playoffs. League of Legends entered as fourth out of the eight top teams in Alabama and finished third in the state semifinals.

Both teams have shown an impressive amount of skill in their first season alone. Each member put in hard work and effort and the results showed throughout the entire season. “This season has been extremely exciting from start to finish. I am so proud of all of the players for committing, staying focused, and striving to get better. I feel beyond motivated and inspired to make next season even better knowing how far our players made it in Season One,” said Coach White.

Many are excited to see what esports is capable of this upcoming fall. As technology evolves and new strategies are created, E-sports will be able to find news ways to grow and improve.