Roland-Story Esports Preview

By Justin S.

Last year our team got close to state in all games. All games can either be played online or face to face. All schools may have one varsity team and one JV team per game. Each player may only play on one team per round (usually by week). All communication and organization will run through the Designated Esports Coordinator; however, there may be a game-specific coach. Teams are required to play online or face-to-face with their opponents.

High school esports is part of the gaming industry. In the gaming industry, you can win millions of dollars from winning a tournament. Take Fortnite for an example. According to Mathew Players from EsprtsGG, players can win hundreds of thousands to over a million dollars. In some tournaments, you win nothing.  Sometimes you win millions of dollars. The Iowa High School Esports Association (IASHEA) hosts a number of games throughout the year for student-athletes to participate in. 

Smite is a 5 vs. 5 tower defense shooter game featuring Norse mythology. Ratatoskr, Skadi, Sol, and Tyr are some of the characters from Norse mythology. The goal of the game is to take down each of your opponent’s towers. There are three lanes on the map. There is also a jungle that separates each lane on the map. The team that wins the most rounds wins. Roland-Story Esports was the state champions playing Smite in 2021-2022. 

Super Smash Bros. Ultimate is 1 vs. 1 with 5 players on each team. Each player has 3 lives each, and knocking out an opponent is worth 1 point. Each round is won by the team that has the most points. There are many different characters from many other series. There are characters like Mario from the Mario series to Pikachu from the Pokemon series. Players from each team can pick one character for each round. However, a player from the same team can’t pick the same character as another from their team if it was already chosen. The team wins if they have beaten the other team's best of three.

Rainbow 6 Siege is a 5 vs 5 first-person shooter strategy game. There are two sides of each round. There is an attacking side and a defending side. The defending team has to defend a bomb on each map. The attacking team has to defuse the bomb. Both teams can also win by defeating all opponents from the opposite side.

Rocket League is a 3 vs. 3  team game playing soccer with rocket cars. A team of three players game to make the most goals. It is played on a soccer field where you can drive on the walls and ceiling. There are 36 cars in Rocket League. You are allowed to choose the same vehicle.

Overwatch 2 is a 6 vs 6 team game. Each team's goal is to eliminate the other team. There are many different gameplays. The best of three rounds wins. There are three classes attacker, tank, and support.

Mario Kart is a 2 vs. 2 team game with up to 12 players. The first place in a race gets 15 points. The team with the most points wins after 4 races and 3 rounds wins. There is also a time trial competition. You compete on how fast you can complete 3 laps around a track the quickest time wins.

There is also Valorant which is a team-against-team game. The maximum number of players per team is five. They win by eliminating the opposing side. There is also League of Legends, which is like Smite. Instead of characters from mythology, they are fantasy characters. There are many games to enjoy.

Coach Jake Sandry, RS '22, said, "We are looking good."

There are a ton of games to choose from. There are many competitions besides the one from IASHEA. Pick a game and come try it out—esports is for everyone. You don’t need to be a pro to join esports. The esports community is an open community. You can be in any grade to join. All you need is the drive to get better.

Location: Story City, IA 50248, USA

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