After mixed results in week 6, Southwest Tech Esports still hold four of the top 10 spots, with the Southwest Squids remaining the only undefeated team in “Splatoon 3” in the U.S. Mountain Division with their last victory over Hillcrest High School being 3-0.
“Splatoon 3” is an ink-based platform shooter game where players paint the ground to gain control while following varying objectives through their created pathways.
“Originally, it was just an idea talked about between Mr. Carmen, Mr. Barranco, and Carl (Esports President),” junior Raidon Jae Santos said. “We wanted to do Esports to branch out and for competitiveness. But I have been there in the conversation ever since Carl brought up the idea to do ‘Splatoon,’ and ever since then I have dedicated myself to being a part of the team.”
Their goal is to make it to the “PlayVS Cup” which is the national championship that offers a scholarship of up to $6,000 to each player of the winning team.
“Esports creates a lot of opportunities for students that they would not normally be able to get,” coach Monty Carman said. “They may not be particularly athletic, but there are still scholarship opportunities, and there are college opportunities. I have wanted to do Esports for several years and this is the first year where I have spoken to the right students. Students that were excited enough to really want to get involved and be a driving force to make it happen.”
The season lasts for eight weeks and if they qualify, they will compete in the playoffs. These matches will run for another three weeks, and then it is onto the championship.
“I’m looking forward to the feeling of being at the top, but also what is really exciting is knowing that the competition is going to get real and the opponents we are facing are finally going to be at our skill level,” junior Carl Reiner said. “There is a six grand scholarship prize which has me really excited, but I am mainly in this just to play ‘Splatoon.’ I never thought I would be the driving force behind something like this.”
Unfortunately, the Coyote Ink Squad and the Southwest Techtonics slipped down the rankings to 9th and 10th respectively, and currently each have a 4-2 season record, but they are still ahead of 52 other teams in the division.
“We were not really communicating with each other and our team was kind of falling apart,” freshman Janessa Calibuso said. “It was not really frustrating, just stressful, but this will help us to learn, improve, and find better ways to work with each other as a team.”
The Esports team has been trying to improve their skills by doing cues and battles against random teams. They are also working on learning their individual members’ setups.
“At the Esports meetings, I look forward to improving my skills and getting feedback from other players that are in the team or in the Esports in general,” junior Kaori Hayashida said. “And when I’m competing against other teams, I look forward to having a good competition. I enjoy the competitiveness and the teamwork that goes into playing.”
The Southwest Squids will now be competing against other undefeated teams.
“It is exciting to see how well the Squids have done so far,” coach Ronald Barranco said. “I am looking forward to seeing them go all the way. I have enjoyed seeing their dedication and their drive to win. I like seeing good teamwork, you know helping each other, and playing as a team. Coordination and communication are very important.”