This year the Esports Super Smash Bro team has returned to state. They faced Webster Groves in the final, but sadly they didn’t win. Even without the win they had a very successful season. 

The esports program happens during the fall and spring. The past two years though they have gone to state in the game Super Smash Bros. They didn’t win, but they played phenomenal and it takes skill to make it all the way to state. 

“My favorite part this season was the team bonding and teamwork. They’ve really supported each other, lifted each other up and worked together really well. Whenever it was time to kind of look at what the other teams had done and who we were playing they did their work, they did their research and they always had a good attitude about it.  So yeah that was one thing that I really enjoyed about the season,” Esports head coach Mr. Winkelmann said.

Every week the players would scout who the other team would be using to help with their gameplay. This helped lead them to state. A few players that balled out were senior Luke Wilson and Ryker Dare. Luke Wilson has been to state before and is not new to the spotlight. 

“To get to state last week we played a lot of games to make it to state. When we won last week to get to state on Wednesday it was Luke Wilson and Ryker Dare having amazing games, especially Ryker Dare he was having a scary good day,” Mr. Winkelmann said.

The players would even go above and beyond by contacting pro players for help for their upcoming matchups. This shows the dedication that these players have to their sport. They are looking for every advantage that will help them in their matchups. Not just them asking pros, but the team also helped each other. This led to good team chemistry, which helped lead to state.

“A couple of our players reached out through Discord to a couple nationally ranked players that play those guys and just looked for tips and stuff like that,” Mr. Winkelmann said. 

Even with the loss the seniors have something to be proud of. The seniors in the esports program are Ryker Dare, Luke WIlson, Anya Appleton, Jack Ellis and Kieran Pohlmann. They have made an impact at the school in not just their sport, but the community overall. They will be missed by all at St. Dominic.