Guam High School wins inaugural Far East eSports event

DoDEA Pacific’s first-ever varsity eSports season ended with a virtual Far East championship tournament earlier this month.

Guam High School’s red team earned the top spot, followed by Humphreys High School and Kadena High School, which took second and third place, respectively.

During the inaugural eSports season, student athletes practiced and played “Rocket League,” a vehicular soccer video game where players use vehicles to hit a ball and score goals. For the season championship, 19 teams from 12 schools were seeded based on their season record and played a best of five, single elimination bracket.

“I have enjoyed watching my esports athletes have fun and grow as a team,” said Guam High School eSports Coach Jooho Lee. “They come from all walks of life and seeing them support each other, form friendships, and bond through video games was really inspiring… They worked as a team, encouraged each other, and learned from one another. They stayed humble, gave each other feedback, and always found ways to improve their performance. At the end, their sportsmanship, respect for the game, and respect for one another really shined.”

Competitive eSports requires skills such as practice, strategy, communication, problem-solving, critical thinking, and teamwork.

“This season I have grown as a player because of my chance to practice and communicate with my team in real time and have a space to really focus on becoming better at the game and grow with a serious team,” said Kyan Murciano, Guam High School senior and eSports athlete.

Murciano, who started playing video games at around three years old and joined eSports at Guam High School as a sophomore, when the program operated as a club, explained his team had a strategy going into the Far East Rocket League Tournament.

“We had a strategy to first have one player be the primary striker, one be the primary defender, and the middle man who would challenge the ball handler and help on offense or defense when needed,” Murciano said. “After we scouted the opposing team, we then would switch back to a regular rotational style and play as normal. If ever needed, we would go back to the first strategy.”

Participating in a Far East event was a memorable experience for senior eSports athlete Brayden Martin.

“Being able to just have the opportunity to play in it, where other people wouldn't typically get that opportunity was so special to me,” said senior eSports athlete Brayden Martin, who has been playing Rocket League since its release. “And winning was an even better experience, just knowing all our hard work paid off in the end was great.”

Brian Rivera, a senior who started playing eSports this year, said he enjoyed getting to take part in the inaugural competitive eSports season.

“I wish this event could’ve happened at the beginning of my high school career, but the rest of the Guam High students will just have to continue to carry out the passion we have for this program,” Rivera said.

DoDEA Pacific’s varsity esports program is supported by USO Indo-Pacific, with USO Gaming overseeing tournament creation and scheduling, graphics, and broadcasting a featured game of the week and the championship event. Boise State University’s eSports program produced and commentated each of the broadcasts, which can be viewed on the USO’s Twitch channel at twitch.tv/theUSO.

“Thank you to all the DoDEA personnel who worked behind the scenes to make this possible for our students,” Lee said. “DoDEA, the USO, and our Guam High School family collectively created an innovative atmosphere of excitement and friendly competition.”