Here at Macleans College, there are a wide range of extracurriculars to choose from, and the Macleans Esports Club (MCEC) is a well-established one. Run by Mr Cardy, Ms Xie, Mr Fitzpatrick, Ms Kobus and Ms Zaidi, the Macleans Esports Club has been dominating national competitions throughout New Zealand.
Macleans College has over twenty teams competing in the META tournaments in League of Legends, Chess, Valorant, and even Rocket League. The MCEC holds a strong hand over other high school teams due to our large roll of students.
VALORANT
In Valorant, teams are made from five players. The popular first-person-shooter video game has taken over the internet and has a strong presence in the gaming community. Macleans College has ten Valorant teams, meaning there are over fifty players representing the school nationally within the esports space. In the top ten teams within the META competition, only three of the Macleans premier teams make it on top of the staggering total of forty-two teams.
“I like Valorant.”
-Year 9 Snell member
League of Legends
League of Legends (LoL) is both ridiculued and beloved by many online. The game turns fourteen-years-old this year, just as old as the Year 9s right now. Like Valorant, League of Legends is a team-based game that consists of five players on each other. Macleans College offered up six premier teams, which means there’s a little over thirty students participating in the competition. Macleans College has taken over the META competition; half of the top ranking teams are from us.
“The League of Legends programme at Macleans College is forward and unique, providing opportunities for students of all skill levels as well as roles in broadcasting and streaming.”
-Felix Yang, ‘professional’ League player and broadcaster of Macleans Cast 3.
Rocket League
Unlike League of Legends or Valorant, Rocket League teams consist of three players only. The game’s fanbase is miniscule compared to the two giants. Therefore, the MCEC is only able to compete with two premier teams.
Chess
Yes, you heard that right. Chess.
Despite its origins in famous times, nerds and geeks online have adapted the old classic game onto the internet. During the lockdown era, everyone was forced into their homes and could no longer entertain themselves with face-to-face games. Because of such circumstances, playing chess online exploded in popularity. There are twelve individual teams representing Macleans, all named after each piece on the chessboard. How unique!
Results
The Rocket League premier team secured their place as the winner of the META tournament last Thursday. This means they are heading towards the Oceania finals, representing New Zealand in esports!
On the other hand, it was an unfortunate fate for both of our Premier 1 Valorant and League of Legends teams. Our Valorant team lost to Westlake Premier 1, while our League of Legends team lost to Burnside Highschool.
Our chess players came out on top with Lucas Xiao placing first and Charles Zhang placing second. The two will be representing New Zealand against the Australian teams next term.
The Macleans Esports team is quite phenomenal, serving and giving the spotlight to players such as the ones mentioned above. After all, we hold hundreds of club members!
2nd July, 2023
Emma Li
