By: Jonathan Szczepaniak | C&G Newspapers | Published December 18, 2024
METRO DETROIT — It was a day of state title contenders continuing to add to the trophy room while newcomers are still looking for a place to build one, and it all went down at the Michigan High School Esports League playoffs.
On Dec. 7 at Michigan State University, hundreds of players, coaches, and spectators packed the STEM building for an electric day of esports as teams battled it out for a state championship trophy.
Teams went head-to-head with familiar faces in the finals while others were fighting deep into the playoffs for the first time in school history.
Below is a recap of how local teams in the C & G Newspapers coverage area finished:
Novi
The Wildcats are just one of those teams you expect to see in the playoffs each year, and it really doesn’t matter for which game either.
Novi is nationally recognized and has been an esports powerhouse over the past few seasons, and it continued to show teams why it’s one of the top programs in the state.
Novi not only captured the Super Smash Bros. Ultimate state title by defeating Plymouth High School 3-2, but also added onto its trophy total by winning the MHSEL state championship in Overwatch 2 Dec. 12, which was held virtually. Novi’s Overwatch 2 team consisted of senior Matthew Bowles, senior Alvaro Hernandez, junior Brandon Salo, junior Noah Lee, junior Elbert Zhang, sophomore Devin Fecteau, and sophomore Srijan Kundu.
It’s the first time in school history the Wildcats have won multiple state titles in one season.
Novi’s Super Smash Bros. Ultimate team had key returners in senior veterans in Daniel Han and Brandon Mijal, both part of Novi’s state semifinals team last season, but also strengthened its squad with the additions of two JV players — Christopher Smith and Zac Apuada.
When it came to facing off against Brownstown Woodhaven in the semifinals this season, Novi head coach Christopher White said Apuada, whom White labels as “somewhat of a prodigy,” took charge and led Novi to a 3-0 win.
“Our team was worried about specifically beating this character in Smash called ‘Steve,’ and there was even a tiny bit of chat in the professional Smash community about banning the character because it seems stronger than the other characters,” White said.
“Our team was worried about playing against Steve because we knew Woodhaven had a good Steve player, and what Zac did is (he) just learned the character and made everyone play against it with him playing it.”
The Wildcats then had to face Plymouth High School in the finals, who held one of the better Super Smash Bros. Ultimate players in the state.
“They’re just amazing as a trio and as a squad,” White said. “They were the No. 1 seed all season long for a reason. Luke Meir was the captain of their team, and we won the finals 3-2 but both of the losses were to Luke. This kid, he is absolutely talented. Our team has the utmost respect for him.”
Novi had both its varsity and JV teams make the quarterfinals, but Utica High School eliminated both in back-to-back rounds, keeping the Wildcats from reaching the finals.
The Wildcats had faced Utica earlier in the season and won, but White said he was impressed by how Utica had progressed throughout the season.
“For us, that was a shocker because we beat Utica 2-1 in the regular season,” White said. “They really improved a lot since the last time we played them and they caught us off guard a little bit. Congratulations to them for really improving as a team and playing well against us.”
Sophomore Sarthak Tayal and junior Shashank Cheedella were the lone returners from last season’s state championship-winning squad, but White noted that Tayal improved to a whole other level this season as Novi leaned on him more.
Novi’s varsity Valorant team also consisted of senior Josh Kashima, junior Satsimer Singh, sophomore Jiyul Lee, and sophomore Mohammed Al Jomaia. The JV Valorant team consisted of senior Theodore Stroup, junior Ayush Lachhireddygari, sophomore Gaurang Valecha, sophomore Christopher Lam, sophomore Jennifer Janigian, sophomore Jackson Kilgore, and freshman Sawyer Osborne.
White said Novi’s Valorant squad also had some help from a past Player of the Year and state champion who joined the coaching staff.
“We had some continuity with both Sarthak (Tayal) and Shashank (Cheedella), but I think the other thing is that we have a student, who’s currently at Michigan State named Ravit Chandra, who won Player of the Year last year and graduated,” White said.
“He’s been helping us out in an assistant coaching kind of capacity with our team and our practices. He’s still close with some of the members on the team, and he’s part of Michigan State Esports as well.”
But if there’s any positive for Novi’s varsity Valorant squad, it’s that the squad will return everyone in efforts to get back to the top.
“This is a newer squad, so it’s nice to have as much success as we’ve had,” White said. “If anything, it’s probably a good thing that they have something to motivate them going forward because they don’t have a single senior on the roster right now.”
Novi also finished state runner-up in Splatoon 3 while putting on a show in the PlayVS Eastern Regional Playoffs, a league consisting of teams on EST, winning Chess and finishing runner-up in League of Legends.
The Splatoon 3 team consisted of senior Nimona McKone, senior JoJo Curtiss, senior Evan Marshall, junior Susana Durón, and junior Andrew Van Nortwick. League of Legends had an all-senior team of Ethan Kim, Matthew Bailo, Khang Truong, Ryan Morris, Christopher Smith, Jordan Xie, Minhee Lee, and Hiro Koyama.
Utica
As newcomers to high school esports, competing for the first time ever in the 2024 spring season, the Chieftains are still trying to find their footing as a program.
Utica’s Valorant squad was strong enough to make playoffs in the spring but was unable to qualify because it didn’t have enough matches.
“I think they thought about it a lot,” Utica head coach Robert Peltier said. “I think the fact that we missed out on the playoffs, they came back with five kids ready to go and spent the time away from school (practicing).”
That lit a fire under the team, and it showed in the MHSEL playoffs as Utica took over the Valorant bracket, defeating Saline 2-1 to win the school its first esports state championship in school history.
Utica’s Valorant squad consisted of Owen Post, Omar Yousef, Marwan Hassan, Joseph Zhong, Aidan Garrison, and Will Bennett.
Novi, the defending state champions in Valorant, had gotten the better end of Utica earlier in the regular season, but Peltier said his team was confident heading into the second matchup against the Wildcats.
“I think they weren’t exactly sure what they were doing,” Peltier said. “I don’t think they had their comfortable comps down and what their strategies and maps were going to be. Fortunately, they played them early.”
“I think if we hadn’t played Novi and just met them in the semifinals, who knows how it goes. They definitely had a goal after getting schooled by them.”
The Chieftains then turned their attention to Saline, who was making quick work of just about every team in the bracket, including the other Saline Valorant team in the semifinals.
It was back and forth all match between the two schools with neither team letting up down the stretch.
“It was pretty close,” Peltier said. “It was up and down and it was a give and go. It really could’ve gone either way. I think we got up in the third set, and they came back and we just fought down to the end.”
Utica’s Overwatch 2 squad, ranked No. 2 heading into the playoffs, reached the quarterfinals before being eliminated.
The Overwatch 2 squad consisted of Collins Harris, Logan Spillane, Joseph Zhong, Brendan Silver, Marwan Hassan, Charles Dobson, Yousif Hammadi, Carter Dobson, and Aidan Garrison.
Utica’s Super Smash Bros. Ultimate team also put up a strong fight this season, which was represented by Trent Jones, Gavin Isrow, Brendan Fecteau, Jack Kadrioski, and Glenn Fecteau.
Utica will have to invest in some trophy room space because the Valorant team’s success should only be a foreshadow for what the Utica esports program plans to bring over the next couple seasons.
Bloomfield Hills
The Black Hawks were ecstatic to reach the Splatoon 3 state finals Dec. 12, but even more so because they knew exactly whom they were going up against.
This past spring season, Bloomfield Hills defeated Novi High School in the Splatoon 3 state finals to become champions, and the Wildcats were looking for a rematch.
Fortunately for Bloomfield Hills, its Splatoon 3 team had a core of returning players in senior Patrick Fritz, senior Jake Desmon, and junior Derek Johnston, who were all part of the state championship team and knew exactly how Novi operated.
“From playing them in the past, we learned very well the general setup that they run,” head coach Aaron Strager said. “Every year, Splatoon gets a little bit of an update, so Novi tends to change up here and there. Overall, their game plan tends to stay the same.
“They’re extremely strong and extremely coordinated, but what we tend to take advantage of the most is infiltrating around the sides or behind. Once one or two go down, the pack scatters.”
Bloomfield Hills, the No. 2 seed in the bracket, would successfully defend its Splatoon 3 title in a 3-1 win over Novi.
The Black Hawks were loaded with talent in Splatoon 3, especially when it comes to leadership and experience, but Strager said Fritz really came into his own this year as a leader.
“He’s absolutely taken on more of a leadership role in the team,” Stranger said. “He’s been the one who’s been primarily coaching our new students on the team, working with them constantly in practice, giving them notes, and reviewing with them. He’s been a guiding hand for the new members of the team.”
Bloomfield Hills also reached the quarterfinals in Mario Kart 8 Deluxe before being eliminated by Richmond High School in a 2-0 loss.
The Black Hawks are only a season removed from reaching the state finals in Mario Kart 8 Deluxe, so Strager said he expects his squad to make some noise in the spring season.
“We’ve now adjusted to the new players,” Strager said. “We’ve had some new strategies we’ve had to implement, but now that we’ve had that adjustment period I think we’re going to have a very promising season in the spring.”