Teams from KCHS, SoHi and Nikiski, based on competitions throughout the fall Esports season, have qualified in three divisions for the ASAA Esports State Championships which feature bracketed tournaments running December 6th through December 14th.
Through the National Federation of State High School Associations (NFHS), ASAA provides state competition for students to compete in Esports on behalf of their high school, with the opportunity to win a championship, just like any other youth sport.
Esports is team-based competition with specific rules set in the arena of a video game. Short for ‘electronic sports’, Esports demands all the teamwork, communication, strategic thinking and leadership skills any traditional sport would.
The ASAA Esports championships are competed in three online gaming formats.
ASAA State Esports Schedule & Results
Super Smash Bros. Ultimate: State competition in the Super Smash Bros. Ultimate division opened on December 2nd with a 16-team bracket first round. The SoHi Smash Stars fell in the first round, entering the tournament as the #16 seed. The KCHS Ultimate Smash 2 team from Kenai Central advanced with a first round victory and face Hutchison Super Happy Gaming Time on Tuesday in the quarterfinals. KCHS Smashin Time, seeded #3, also faces Nikiski Smash on Tuesday. Winners advance to December 8th semi-final round.
League of Legends: KCHS Leagintime, seeded #3, battles Lathrop’s Piggy Bankers on Friday, December 9th with the winner advancing to the championship round on December 14th.
Rocket League: SoHi Stars, #4 seed, challenge the Nome Beltz Bois on Tuesday with the winner advancing the championship December 8th.
Description of Gaming Platforms
League of Legends (LoL) is a multiplayer online battle arena (MOBA) game developed by Riot Games in 2009. This PC-only game is free-to-play and boasts more than 115 million players. It has also become the world’s most popular esport with 12 leagues competing around the world. The 2019 World Championship had over 100 million viewers, including in-person and online fans.
Rocket League is a fantastical sport-based video game, developed by Psyonix. Many would say it’s like “soccer with cars”. It features a competitive game mode based on teamwork and outmaneuvering opponents.
Super Smash Bros. Ultimate is the latest Super Smash Bros. game, released in 2018 by Nintendo. It’s a unique competitive game where, instead of classics like Tekken and Street Fighter, players can freely move throughout the stage. This game is rated E10+ for “Cartoon Violence, Comic Mischief, Mild Suggestive Themes.”
