Andrew High School students Zaid Alqamma, left, and Thad Truong have a little fun after winning the inaugural IHSA state championship in one of the eSports division on Saturday. (Andrew High School)
Sometimes you have to get up pretty early in the morning to make history.
Andrew High School senior Thang Truong and junior Zaid Alqammaz got up so early Saturday morning that even the roosters were sleeping. The two left Tinley Park at approximately 4:30 a.m. to head to Bloomington High School for a long, trailblazing day.
It was the inaugural running of the Illinois High School Association’s eSports State Tournament, and by the end of the day the Andrew pair became the first state champions in the Smash Bros. Duo Team event.
They opened the double-elimination tournament with a 3-0 victory over Schaumburg High School’s Soya Lee-Damian Long and won three more matches by a combined score of 9-0. The Lee-Long team, meanwhile, fought its way through the losers bracket and faced off against the Thunderbolts duo and Andrew gave up its first game of the tournament but still won 3-1 to claim the crown.
“This was nice,” Alqammaz said. “It was fun seeing all of these people being here for the same reason. I felt like I was a part of something really big.”
Alqammaz felt confident coming into the tournament. Truong, not so much.
“It was amazing to see all of the people involved and the effort to put this on,” he said. “It was a competitive atmosphere. I’m not a confident person and walking into the venue, I was really skeptical on how we would do. I thought maybe we would finish in the top five or something.
“I always set the standard really low. That way, if I do poorly I won’t be disappointed. But we ended up winning the tournament, which was a huge surprise.”
For those on the outside who think the hundreds of gamers in the four categories were just a bunch of kids out there laying on couches just having fun, the best of the best disagree.
There was a lot of work that went in from all the participants as they qualified via sectionals to get to state.
Andrew’s Zaid Alqammaz and Thad Truong earned the top step on the awards podium after winning the Smash Bros. duo event at the inaugural IHSA state tournament last weekend in Bloomington. (Andrew High School)
“For this game, it takes a lot of time and there is a lot of technicality,” Alqammaz said of Smash Bros. “This game is considered like a family party game and that no one would ever take it seriously as a fighting game but it is. You have to know the characters and learn how your opponent plays.
“It feels really nice to come out on top and have people realize that this is a big thing and a really difficult game that you have to put the time and work in, just like any other sport.”
Andrew coach Adam Weis said he got a kick out of seeing players interact with each other in person, as many of them know each other only through their screen names.
He also appreciates what it means to eSports as a legitimate sport.
“We’re pretty new to the competing thing, so it was awesome to see all of the players coming together,” he said. “We’ve been super excited that the IHSA decided to pick it up. It’s becoming bigger and it’s going to grow huge. More people are talking about it. More people in the community are participating in it.”
The eSports activity is the 10th offered by the IHSA, joining bass fishing, chess, debate, drama-group interpretation, speech, journalism, music, and scholastic bowl.
“Not unlike when the IHSA added bass fishing, some may question how eSports fits into the IHSA’s offerings, but we never wavered in our belief that we want to align the association with the interests of our high school students,” IHSA Executive Director Craig Anderson said when this was announced last August. “Research shows that there are educational, mental, and social benefits to having students compete for their high school in any activity or sport, so we look forward to Illinois high school students who are passionate about eSports being able to enjoy those benefits.”
The south suburban area had good representation among the schools that qualified for state.
Oak Lawn Community High School’s Rocket League team of seniors Taleb Mreiziq and Marcos Nunez and junior Kalvin Vega took second place, losing twice to Normal Community West.
Stagg High School sophomore Kristian Zajac placed second in the Smash Bros. singles division, losing twice to Lake Park’s Shaan Patal.
Stagg’s Smash Bros. duo tandem of sophomore Joel Droesch and Szymon Kieta finished 3-2 to finish in the top four.
Unity Christian Academy of South Holland had two freshmen in the NBA 2K Division and Austin Stephens finished in the top four with a 4-2 record while Cory Newman finished 0-2.
Reavis sophomore Leo Mendoza finished 2-2 in the Smash Bros. singles round.
Lincoln-Way East’s Rocket League team of sophomore Jacob Hartman, freshman Colin Keener and senior Nathan Scott went 0-2 with a pair of 2-1 losses to Kankakee High School and Lakes High in Lake Villa.
Jeff Vorva is a freelance reporter for the Daily Southtown.
Copyright © 2021, Chicago Tribune
Copyright © 2021, Chicago Tribune
