LAKEWOOD – At Localhost on Friday, esports history was made in Colorado.
At the end of what was the first season with esports as an official activity sanctioned by the Colorado High School Activities Association, the No. 4 Cherry Creek squad won 4-2 over No. 1 Rocky Mountain in the Rocket League championship match.
Cherry Creek is now, and forever will be, the first team to win a CHSAA-sanctioned esports title.
“It’s crazy. We’ll go fully down in history,” Cherry Creek freshman Jasper Kaminsky said. “I’m so proud of myself and my team. That trophy, we worked super hard for it. We’ve been practicing so much and we really needed this, we really wanted this and it came with time and practice. For anyone who’s maybe not where they want to be in a video game, just practice. It might not look like you’re getting better, but you definitely are.”
To reach the finals, Cherry Creek won a 4-3 nailbiter over No. 2 Valor Christian. The eventual champions trailed 3-1 in that match before coming from behind to win the decisive final best-of-seven game.
“They won the first game and our mentality was down,” Kaminsky said. “But one of our people who was the most down was like, ‘Screw it, let’s bring it back up,’ and we did. Then we just destroyed.”
Cherry Creek’s win ended an unofficial win streak for Rocky Mountain, which has won all three of the Rocket League titles during esports’ pilot seasons.
“I am just so proud of this team,” Cherry Creek coach Alexandra Bak said. “We were down in the semifinals. They played great and had a couple of overtime wins. Those are always stressful. Rocky Mountain has won state the last three years, and they’ve always been very, very good. So, the way we played against them was insane. I can’t believe how well we played.
“They controlled the game the whole time, the defense was great and they had great communication. I’m just really proud of how far this team has come this season. I just cannot think of a better group of kids and they deserve it so much.”
In the opposite semifinal, Rocky Mountain defeated No. 4 Castle View, 4-1.
In the quarterfinals, Rocky Mountain defeated No. 8 Chaparral, 4-0, Castle View beat No. 5 Grand Junction Central, 4-0, Valor Christian took out No. 23 Thompson Valley, 4-0, and Cherry Creek won 4-2 over No. 6 Ponderosa.
