For the first time, EF Academy’s E-sports team, which competes in “Valorant,” made it to the playoffs this season. Over the past few weeks, the team competed against other schools and slowly made it to this point. For the players, reaching the playoffs was a big step, especially since this is the first time EF Academy has participated in “Valorant” games.
In the days leading up to the games, the team started taking things more seriously. Instead of just playing casually, they practiced together several times and talked more about the strategy. “We took it more seriously this time, we practiced together before the game and tried to plan things out,” said Gordon Wu, a member of the E-sports team. According to Rene Neal-De-Stanton, who oversees the E-sports team, “They help each other a lot, and they are starting to feel more like a family.”
During the playoff match, the team stayed focused and continued to communicate with each other. The players sat in front of their screens, leaned forward, and occasionally called out information to each other. Leo Li, a member of the team, often guided his teammates and called out plays, reminding them to stay alert and telling them what to do during each round. As the match continued, they collaborated well and tried to follow their strategy.
The playoff game followed a best-of-three format, meaning the team had to win two games to move on. EF lost the first game 2-13, which made them a bit more nervous. After that, they tried to reset and focus on the second game. They communicated more and tried to adjust their strategy. However, the opponent stayed in control and eventually won the second game 13-7.
“Their strategy is very smart, and they worked together really well. I think we need to get better at adapting to different strategies in the future,” Li said.
The team continued to support each other throughout the game, even as the score fell behind. “Even when we were losing, we kept communicating and trying to support each other,” Wu said.
Although the loss marked the end of the season, the experience still meant a lot to the players. They made it to the playoffs, which shows that they’ve already improved a lot. Neal-De-Stanton said he didn’t really have expectations for the players, and he is glad that they made it this far. He just wanted them to enjoy the experience. “Even though this is the end of our season, I think we’ve grown a lot as a team,” Li said.
