Top Gamers: Deerfield Esports Team Wins National Championship In Texas
DEERFIELD, IL — Playing video games together since seventh grade, it’s fitting that a group of Deerfield High School students are going out on top as national champions during their collective senior years. As part of the newly formed Deerfield esports team, the Warriors recently traveled to Dallas, where they beat a team from Nebraska in the final and earned $15,000 for DHS.
“This whole trip was a dream come true for all of us. Playing on a stage in front of a live audience, competing at that caliber, has been something we’ve all been hoping to do since we were young,” team members James Weiner and Inoa Nakahara told Patch via email about last weekend’s trip. “The amount of support we received from our families and friends at home was astounding.”
A month ago, the players qualified for the trip to Dallas — flight and hotel expenses paid — to compete in the American Video Game League Intel Inspires National Championship. The video game they played is a favorite of the group, “Overwatch.”
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“‘Overwatch’ has a very unique style of play that is unlike any other game with a diverse selection of characters, or ‘heroes,’ and a futuristic art style,” Weiner and Nakahara said. “Providing our love for video games, many of us were drawn to this game since we were young.”
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The classmates say the game kept the group together throughout middle school and high school. They say the combination of improving both their individual skills in the game, along with the team concept of it, has kept them motivated to play it over the years.
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Weiner, who serves as team captain, approached Derrick Tiveron, a math and computer science teacher at DHS, about forming the esports team. Tiveron is the club’s sponsor and also oversees teams that play “Super Smash Brothers” and “Valorant.” The team said Tiveron has “done a great job of providing an environment for our teams to thrive.”
In addition, Weiner, Nakahara and Cooper Jacobsen, had previously competed on a non-school affiliated team during their freshman year. The players say the coach of that team, Joshua Tolbert, “has continuously provided support and guidance in our strategy and team environment.”
With the players set to attend different college and universities next fall, the competition in Dallas was also bittersweet as it likely marks the last opportunity for the group of friends to all compete together.
Nick “Reckless” Dymanus will be attending the University of Utah; Jackson “Ponch” Frankel will be attending San Diego State University; Cooper “Mookie” Jacobsen will be attending and competing at Illinois Wesleyan University; Inoa “Hideo” Nakahara will be attending the University of St. Thomas; James “Mesmer” Weiner will be attending University of Denver; Elan “MintX” Pissetzky will be attending Columbia College Chicago; Ethan “Whytho” Gossrow will be attending American University.
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