Thanks to stellar performances by gamers from Stagg, Thornton Fractional South and Crete-Monee high schools, the Southland absolutely dominated the recent state esports tournament.
South suburban teams or individuals won four or the five categories in the Illinois High School Association esports state finals on April 27 at Evergreen Park Community High School.
This was the third year the IHSA sanctioned a postseason for esports, and the second year the tournament has been hosted at Evergreen Park. The inaugural event was in 2022 at Bloomington High School.
Stagg senior Joel Droesch, who has competed all three years, has said the tournament keeps getting better.
“This year was the highest production quality,” he said. “All of the setups were really nice. The overall vibe was really solid. It was a lot of fun.”
In his four years at the school in Palos Hills, Droesch has seen esports go from a club activity to a full-blown IHSA-backed event.
Colleges have been forming esports teams and offering scholarships in recent years.
“It’s on the rise now,” Droesch said.
The south suburbs are also on the rise after the huge showing at state this year.
Droesch captained a Smash Bros. Crew Battle team that throughout the season included fellow Stagg students Mohamed Ahmed, Ousayed Alkhani, Salvadore Cruz, Isaac Ferniza, Yusef Hassan, Szymon Kieta, Isaac Ling and William Stawinski. The Chargers won the event this year after taking second in 2023.
Stagg’s Kristian Zajac won his second straight state title in the Smash Bros. individual category.
The TF South Rocket League Team of Nicholas Hayes, Cory Newman and Nicholas Tiscareno claimed a state championship, and Crete-Monee’s Omar Romo won the EA Sports FC individual event.
The lone event not won by a south suburban school was Mario Kart, in which Elgin beat Normal West in the championship.
The tournaments are double-elimination and Stagg lost to Lincolnshire’s Stevenson High School, 5-4, in the second round of the Smash Bros. event. But the Chargers climbed back through the losers’ bracket and beat Stevenson, 5-4 in a rematch to get back to the championship bracket, where the team beat Evergreen Park 5-4 twice to earn the title.
“We had a rough draw bracket-wise,” he said. “In my opinion, the top three schools were us, Stevenson and Evergreen Park. When I saw we had to play Stevenson in Round 2, I was a little scared. But we were able to win in the loser’s bracket and ride the momentum.”
Zajac was knocked into the loser’s bracket after a 3-0 loss to Libertyville’s Michael Jahn and worked his way back and beat Jahn 3-2 and 3-0.
“He is amazing — he has a great competitive mindset,” Droesch said of Zajac. “His mindset has improved faster than anyone I’ve seen improve before. Every time I play him, he is just so good. He thinks a lot faster than me whenever I play him. He beats me 99 percent of the time.”
T.F. South also had to come from the loser’s bracket to win after being knocked out of the winner’s bracket with a 3-1 loss to Normal West. South got back into the championship bracket and knocked out Normal West 3-2 and 3-0.
Romo had to scratch and claw for his title. The Crete-Monee junior sent St. Laurence freshman Adrian Diaz to the losers bracket in the semifinals, then lost to Diaz 5-1 before claiming the championship with a 4-3 win.
This was the first time Romo entered the IHSA tournament but felt good about his chances.
“I was pretty confident going in, but I knew that I couldn’t underestimate anybody,” he said. “You always have to give people their credit.”
He did have a nice advantage. He plays soccer for the Warriors and comes from a soccer family. Thus, he has a bit of a leg up when it comes to playing the soccer-based EA FC game.
“Knowing what to do in soccer helps me know what to do in the game,” he said. “I knew how to pass the ball around and open up (the field).”
After 13 events in three years of the state tournament, Stagg, coached by Jonathon McGreal, has four championships, to lead the state. From the area, Andrew, T.F. North and Crete each have one.
Jeff Vorva is a freelance reporter for the Daily Southtown.
