On Dec. 6, seven of St. Charles High School’s Esports team played in the state finals in Sedalia. They earned the title of State Champions.

“Yeah, I thought we would win the state championship,” Joel Lemmons-sharp said. “Competing was really fun to do with my friends.”

Coach Messina directed the team’s strategies and teamwork throughout this season, which had led them to victory.

“To me, my job as an Esports coach is focused on managing the team’s logistics, paperwork, and other things like that,” Coach Messina said. “That being said, I think by far my most important job is to teach my players to work as a team as well as other meta-cognitive skills. These kinds of things are essential, and universal, for a good team.”

Messina credits the team on their adaptability.

“I am so proud of how we handled the State competition,” Messina said. “As I was watching them play, I realized that they lost fights and then made adjustments to their character selections. After that, they were able to push through, play well and shut the other team down.”

The players came in with confidence, but played with caution.

“We never let our ego get to us,” Aaron Baxter said. “We were winning each game but we kept going into them thinking this could be the last.”

The end of the game came down to two Pirates against one of the opposing team’s members.

“We were communicating too well for them to coordinate and make that character work,” Messina said. “In the end, we won a team fight, trading numerous members to where only two of us remained and one of them remained. This allowed us to push to the end and take the title.”

The final fight turned out to be different from what the players expected.

“I wasn’t sure of what was gonna happen,” Baxter said. “I knew we had come to win and I was expecting some giant brawl of a struggle, but it ended more like ‘Oh you can only throw rock, well I’m gonna throw paper.’”