Seniors Steven Dang and Evan Phu, Junior Sean Uehara and alumni Jonathan Lu and Huy Ly landed second place out of over 1,000 schools in High School Star League, an eSports organization in North America that funded the annual League of Legends tournament.
Their teamwork and dedication led them to the HSL Grand Finals at the Rowland Height’s Community Center. However, the team had a rocky start with many conflicts concerning dedication and coordination. Originally starting off with members Tony Lim, Huy Ly, Evan Phu, Clinton Thai and Nagi Vergara, by the end of the tournament, only two of the original players remained.
“Some of our players are on a whole different caliber of skill while others failed to perform at times,” Phu said. “This led to arguments and disagreements. The problem of high school eSports is that a victorious High School can be determined simply based on how many good players attend that school.”
The team eventually overcame complications and pushed forward to victory. They practiced for more than twenty hours per week in order to prepare for their next games against opposing teams.
Making it up to the top 64, the team had an overall tournament record of 5-1, causing them to advance to the top 32. After playing six more games and ending with a total score of 6-0, they advanced as one of the top four finalists. The team stayed in a hotel near the tournament site in Rowland Heights for three days.
“The first day was just to get at the site because some people have to come from different states,” Uehara said. “On the second day, we played the semifinals and won. The next day we played in the grand finals.”
Temple City played against Thomas S. Wootton High School in the finals and lost with a score of 3-1. During the second game against Wootton, the team was able to get even with the opposing team, tying the overall score 1-1, but the later games showed that odds were not in favor for Temple City. As a result, the team placed second out of more than 1000 schools, an amazing feat for the team. The team received $5000 in scholarships in addition to some peripherals such as computer mouses and keyboards.
