The two members of 皇家华人's best-ever esports team both have their top memories from the national tournament. Both remember the dedication they put into it beforehand, playing together as often as five days a week.
It paid off. NWC's Call of Duty Gunfight Alpha Team finished third, being defeated at nationals by the eventual championship team.
The two led what was a successful year for the program, coach Chris Dugger said.
鈥淚 am super proud of the teams this season, they did a great job,鈥� he said. 鈥淭he teams that didn't do too hot this season were brand new teams and games we had not competed in until this season, so there was a growing pain there. Overall the teams grew a lot this season, communicated a lot more than last season.鈥�
Dugger said the Call of Duty Gunfight Alpha Team was the program's best finish this season, as they were in the invitational season that 30 teams competed to qualify in and only eight teams made it in. Of those eight they finished third.
Dugger also highlighted the success of the Overwatch team, which went from one single win last season to going undefeated until the last week. And they still made it to the second round of the playoffs.
In addition, both the Call of Duty Alpha Team, and the Rainbow 6 Siege teams lost in the playoffs against the team that became the national champions this year.
/sports/esports/2022-23/bios/galindo_ryan_82gbRyan Galindo, who teamed up with /sports/esports/2022-23/bios/grotefend_daniel_zpj2鈥淒aniel Grotefend on the Call of Duty team that reached new heights for the fledgling program, said he was more happy than surprised with their finish.
鈥淭his season differed from the previous in that it wasn't an open season and we had to qualify to get into the bracket,鈥� Galindo said. 鈥淏eing that we knew we would be going against good teams, I wasn't surprised because Daniel and I work pretty good together in Call of Duty and we both know it's not just about how good you play but also communication and being able to work well with whoever you're playing with. We have pretty good instinct about another and our playstyles and tend to incorporate that in whatever map we are on whether it was in practice or real matches.鈥�
Grotefend said the only real surprise was in how close the matches were, even the one against the eventual champs.
鈥淔or the round we got knocked out, I believe the final score was 3-1,鈥� he said. 鈥淗owever those matches were extremely close to deciding who won, most of them coming to match point with the exception of one where they, as people in gaming culture would say, 'steam rolled us.'鈥�
Grotefend said the match was his favorite despite the defeat due to the tension throughout and the 鈥渃lip-worthy鈥� moments as their opponents from Iowa brought out a playstyle different then the one they had seen at the last matchup.
Galindo said his favorite match was the one just before the final defeat, against a team in the HutchCC Blue Dragons that based on their record should've been a relatively easy win for the NWC pair.
鈥淚t was my favorite match because while their record and our previous game had told us they wouldn't be the toughest opponents we have gone against; they really brought the heat in the playoffs and kind of caught us by surprise I'd say,鈥� Galindo recalled. 鈥淚t showed me that just because we had beaten someone before doesn't mean we could let up and everyone in the playoffs took it seriously which is part of why I enjoy esports.鈥�
The two credit their success to their dedication to their craft. Grotefend said teams were asked to practice at least once a week together, but the two always went above and beyond.
鈥淔or Daniel and I we took it a bit further and made it about three times a week on average up until the week before playoffs,鈥� he said. 鈥淒uring that week we tried to kick it up to at least an hour every day. These times didn't account for our personal gaming time however and likely that had a huge impact on how well we did seeing as we both played Call of Duty regularly before, in between, and after classes.鈥�
Both were pleased to be part of a new and growing program that is far more than just getting to play video games.
Galindo said it was nice to be able to play competitively and the connections and friendships made from that.
鈥淥ur coach, Chris Dugger, is also an amazing guy who I believe makes it an awesome experience,鈥� Galindo said. 鈥淗e keeps the mood up and can be seen more as a friend than a coach. You can tell he enjoys his job and enjoys seeing us all compete and can crack jokes with us about our games without judging us harshly. I will say he's a big part in my enjoyment of the esports program and while I've had awesome coaches in other sports I've played over the years, Chris Dugger is my favorite.鈥�
Galindo said Dugger 鈥� who he called the best coach ever 鈥� keeps them accountable, even if he doesn't play Call of Duty, and makes for a lively community of players. And the two who reached new heights for the Trappers plan to keep playing together.
鈥淣ext season I might play Overwatch 2 with a few people I met in the center, and if NJCAAE offers a game that Ryan and I both enjoy, we will 100% play with each other,鈥� he said. 鈥淩yan is also one of my closest friends, I've known him since my sophomore year in high school and I'm glad I could share competing in esports with him.鈥�
National tournament resultsCall of Duty Gunfight Alpha Team (/sports/esports/2022-23/bios/galindo_ryan_82gb鈥淩yan Galindo and /sports/esports/2022-23/bios/grotefend_daniel_zpj2鈥淒aniel Grotefend) Made it to the playoffs and got to the Semi Finals where their season ended with an overall 6-3 record. They were in the Invitational Season, so they are third in the nation for the NJCAAE Conference.Call of Duty Gunfight Bravo Team (/sports/esports/2022-23/bios/gould_logan_xakg鈥淟ogan Gould and Garret Eickhoff) ended their season eighth in their Group with a 2-5 record.Call of Duty Gunfight Charlie team (Marcus Wiley and Amir Shehata) ended their season 6th in their Group with a 2-5 record.Hearthstone: /sports/esports/2022-23/bios/miller_caleb_6fli鈥淐aleb Miller made it to the playoffs and lost in the second round Quarterfinals and ended with a 6-3 record.Hearthstone: /sports/esports/2022-23/bios/gould_logan_xakg鈥淟ogan Gould made it to the playoffs and lost in the second round Quarterfinals and ended with a 8-1 record.Call of Duty Vanguard (/sports/esports/2022-23/bios/lee_ivan_dj83鈥淚van Lee, Amir Shehata, Garret Eickhoff, Henry Bridgeman, and /sports/esports/2022-23/bios/sweet_ryan_2cv0鈥淩yan Sweet) lost in the first round of the playoffs putting them at a 4-4 record.Rainbow 6 Siege (/sports/esports/2022-23/bios/wolsey_dalton_edcd鈥淒alton Wolsey, /sports/esports/2022-23/bios/joy_jastin_nmn1鈥淛astin Joy, /sports/esports/2022-23/bios/heindl_riley_3lnv鈥淩iley Heindl, Carson Summers, Dayton Gurie, /sports/esports/2022-23/bios/galindo_ryan_82gb鈥淩yan Galindo, and /sports/esports/2022-23/bios/grotefend_daniel_zpj2鈥淒aniel Grotefend) made it into the playoffs and into the second round Quarterfinals where they lost and ended their season with a 6-3 record.Overwatch 2 (/sports/esports/2022-23/bios/sweet_ryan_2cv0鈥淩yan Sweet, /sports/esports/2022-23/bios/wolsey_dalton_edcd鈥淒alton Wolsey, /sports/esports/2022-23/bios/hiltz_magnus_zcbu鈥淢agnus Hiltz, Randon Gresham, /sports/esports/2022-23/bios/adkins_joseph_jg8u鈥淛oseph Adkins) Made it to the playoffs and made it to round 2 where they posted a lost ending their season at 6-2Call of Duty Warzone (/sports/esports/2022-23/bios/lee_ivan_dj83鈥淚van Lee, Marcus Wiley) made it to the playoffs and lost in the first round ending their season with a 4-4 record.League of Legends (Carson Summers, /sports/esports/2022-23/bios/zeller_noah_gms4鈥淣oah Zeller, /sports/esports/2022-23/bios/kelly_patrick_cpn2鈥淧atrick Kelly, /sports/esports/2022-23/bios/desrosier_roger_o1zh鈥淩oger DesRosier, /sports/esports/2022-23/bios/thompson_trace_ld6x鈥淭race Thompson) ended their season at sixth in their group with a 3-4 record.Valorant (Isaac Thueson, Jesus Hernandez, /sports/esports/2022-23/bios/zeller_noah_gms4鈥淣oah Zeller, /sports/esports/2022-23/bios/desrosier_roger_o1zh鈥淩oger DesRosier, /sports/esports/2022-23/bios/orazgulyyev_seid_09y1鈥淪eid Orazgulyyev) ended their season sixth in their group with a 2-5 record.Rocket League (Isaac Thueson, Jesus Hernandez, /sports/esports/2022-23/bios/zeller_noah_gms4鈥淣oah Zeller) ended their season fifth in their group with a 3-4 record.Halo Infinite (/sports/esports/2022-23/bios/miller_caleb_6fli鈥淐aleb Miller, Henry Bridgeman, /sports/esports/2022-23/bios/tilley_mark_r2yr鈥淢ark Tilley, Blake Mautz, and /sports/esports/2022-23/bios/sweet_ryan_2cv0鈥淩yan Sweet) ended their season at ninth in their group with a 1-8 record.
Dugger also said he recently received notice that the NJCAA is attempting to add League of Legends into the rotation.
The Trapper team competes at least once each week for nine weeks in a round-robin format against every team in each game, which will culminate in a tournament style finals beginning in November.
Dugger said any students wishing to join the team can contact him, or stop by the esports center any time Monday through Friday from 1-8 p.m.