The Edmond Memorial High School “SMITE” E-Sports team won the American Video Game League (AVGL) National High School Winter Finals in dominant fashion, going undefeated throughout the tournament.

“SMITE” is a multiplayer online battle arena (MOBA), which is a subgenre of video games geared toward strategy and teamwork where two teams compete against one another fighting on an already predetermined battlefield. It is different than most other MOBAs. It has a third-person point of view rather than the traditional isometric point of view many MOBAs use, such as Riot Games’ League of Legends.

The “SMITE” team had their game plan going into the tournament, essentially speedrunning the match by using a strategy that excelled at the beginning of matches, so they could gain the advantage early and never look back. This strategy was clearly successful because the “SMITE” team didn’t drop a single match throughout the entire tournament. Although Senior Colin Aberson wasn’t nervous going into the tournament because he knew his team all knew what needed to be done. He was very relieved after they won the match.

“The feeling [of winning] was almost like a big weight off the shoulders, even though we were undefeated the season was stressful at times, but we were able to pull through and win,” Aberson said.

One of the biggest challenges the “SMITE” team faced was not being able to practice with one another in a centralized location. Here at Memorial all of the E-Sports teams go to the University of Central Oklahoma (UCO) co-op to practice; however, because “SMITE” isn’t on the computers at the co-op, they have to compete separately at their own respective houses.

“I’m proud of them for working through it and keeping at it whenever they’re not physically there every day,” E-Sports Coach Kate Swearingen said. 

Another struggle the “SMITE” team had to face this year was being interrupted during practices because they were more abstract than most. Being home during these practices leaves room for distractions such as family or pets.

“Parents don’t always understand the importance of it and interrupt practices, which is annoying,” Senior Roman Thompson said.

The “SMITE” team has put countless hours into practice this year, every day after sixth hour. These hours were obviously put to good use, considering they came out of the National Winter Tournament victorious. This win is a big deal because this has opened up scholarship opportunities for some of the seniors on the team.

“We have a recruiter that’s in our discord…I don’t know if they’re going to take the scholarship, but they’re there. ” Swearingen said.t

Even through the almost insurmountable obstacle that is not being able to actually be around one another during practice, the “SMITE” team worked hard and found success at a national level. This is something almost no sports team has to deal with, even within the E-Sports realm. The “SMITE” team should be proud of the season that has resulted from their unbreakable work ethic and resilience. 

Contact Lathan Pearce at [email protected]