The esports team is a relatively new, but very successful program at Westside. Their accomplishments have included many victories at competitions, including 3 state championships last year.

This year, the team hopes to make some new additions to their lineup of games members can compete in.

Senior Aidan Brown was the team captain for the game Super Smash Bros. and Hearthstone this past year. Some of the program’s biggest achievements have been made at various competitions, as well as during state last fall.

“We’ve had a lot [of accomplishments]. Last year, in the fall we won the state championship three times,” Brown said, “And we’ve won several central regional championships as well.”

The addition of new games will benefit the esports team as they continue to compete in the future. More games could attract new members of different gaming backgrounds and garner interest in joining the team.

“This year, we [added] Splatoon, which is like a Nintendo team based shooter game,” Brown said. “It really just adds new opportunities for people to be on the team and do different roles.”

In the future, the team looks forward to not only winning more competitions, and hopefully state titles, but also growing their inclusivity as a program.

“I just really hope that [esports] can grow into just a more inclusive space for a lot of people,” Brown said.

Junior Allison Burnett is the Student Leader of esports, Manager/Commentator of Valorant and Captain/Coach of the Overwatch team.

Burnett said that in addition to success at state, Westside esports has put themselves on the leaderboard at the national level this past spring.

“Last year, in all three games of Overwatch, Rocket League and Hearthstone, we got first in the state tournament,” Burnett said. “We also finished third out of 400+ teams in Overwatch Spring 2022 Nationals in combination with Gretna’s esports team.”

Over the course of the program’s season, gaining visibility for esports is vital for the development of the team.

“Adding new and more games means more membership and exposure for esports, which as a relatively new program, [so this] is invaluable for our continued growth and success,” Burnett said. “I’m hoping we can continue our victories in state, and create a productive, fun learning environment for all games.”