The Augustana Esports team is well into the season, with many of the teams making it into the playoffs next week. The “Valorant” and “League of Legends” teams are the top seeds. 

“The goal is to stay healthy and fresh while keeping our minds open so that we can go into the playoffs and hopefully bring some trophies home,” Coach Joe Loomis, director of the esports team, said.

Though the season is almost over, with playoffs coming and the finals happening right before Christmas break, most of the teams have been doing very well. The “Valorant” team is undefeated this season.

“We just finished our regular season, and we’ve been undefeated so far, so it’s been going pretty well,” sophomore and “Valorant” player Mason Love said.  

Love credits  the community they have as a team for their winning streak.

 “We play a lot together, so we have that chemistry that other teams may not have, and we have a really good coach,” Love said.

Although esports is relatively new (as it was a club just a few years ago), the new facilities have brought in new players.

 “I wanted [the space] to feel welcoming,” Loomis said.  

The new facilities were finished right before the season started in late August. This has helped the team improve their playing. 

“It’s a huge step up from the house we were playing in from last year with the club team,” sophomore “Overwatch” player Andrew Johns said. 

Having a larger space with more computers has helped each player grow and develop as a gamer. They have a computer for every player to practice different skills and strategies. This was a major improvement from last year when the team  only had six computers to play on.

Playing in much tighter quarters has helped each team grow closer as a whole. 

“I feel like people get to know each other more than just being crammed into a small house,” Johns said.  

This year, the team has emphasized on being a team for each specific game and working together in practices, like doing breath work before a game to ensure focus. 

Being a highly-ranked team has motivated the players to push through the last few rounds even if there might be a loss here or there. 

“Even though our team is small and young, they have a lot of grit and resilience, and we’ve taken a few losses but we just have to get up from that as a team, but I think that winning our conferences is definitely possible,” Johns said.