2023 | ISSUE 9 | SJC Newsletter

St Joseph’s College eSports.

Throughout Term 1, students across Year 7-10 have participated in the Acer Australian eSports League High School Cup.

The Acer High Schools Cup is a national program that provides students across Australia a robust and well-structured competitive environment for High Schools to compete in Video Games. Tournaments are conducted during each term of the school year. Competition takes place over the internet familiarizing students with the benefits of the latest technology and software.

eSports requires a tremendous amount of critical thinking, communication, collaboration, and creativity from players to achieve and sustain success. Schools and players in high school have had a great experience with the game, and continue to experience its benefits.

Esports Benefits

• Sense of Inclusive Community
• Team building / Collaboration
• Character Development
• Increase of Student Agency
• Development of positive structured gaming
• Increase Achievement
• STEM Engagement

Games on Offer

Rocket League (G Rated)- is a fantastical sport-based video game, developed by Psyonix (it is “soccer with cars”). It features a competitive game mode based on teamwork where you outmanoeuvre opponents.

Super Smash Bros Ultimate (PG Rated) - A fighting game for individuals to play against up to eight players. In this game characters from Nintendo games and other third-party franchises must try to knock each other out of an arena.

Year 10 student Cooper Hickey, has been a consistent competitor in the AEL, competing in the Super Smash Bros tournament. In the most recent competition competed against 15 other students from schools all over Australia, reaching the Grand Final in a best of 3 knock out.

Due to external commitments Cooper, competed in only half of the tournament(completely). The very first week started strongly but unfortunately had to Disqualify himself for that bracket.

A 3rd week return saw him dominate the competition, during that week he didn’t lose a single game, it was definitely a confidence builder, in Coopers own words “I knew from the get go this was going to be a land slide”. Win after win and eventually placed 8th in the player rankings for the entire tournament.

Grand Final week came, Coopers confidence was high. “I knew I was going to win, during my grand final run I thought It would be funny to not play my main character, but some of the alternates in the game like King Kong, Rool and Incineroar”. Cooper was victorious on his path to the Grand Final.

The Journey wasn’t smooth however as he lost his bracket match, dropping him to the loser brackets, giving him the opportunity to win his way back into the Grand Final Match.

“I decided to make the swap to King K. Rool and won, as soon as I won I knew they were stressed about the situation, whereas I stayed perfectly calm.”

The nerves creeped up on my competition, and eventually overwhelmed them. I won Grand Final!

“AEL was a really fun experience for me as it was what sparked my competitive drive back in 2022, all I can really say is thanks to the guys who helped run the event.”