MFHS gamers in national finals
The Marble Falls High School esports team won its first-round contest in the Vanta Fall League Classic, earning it a spot in the Dec. 6 finals. Pictured are coach Linden Colwell (left), and student-gamers Jimmy Harlow, Jeremy Williams, Jesse Jimenez, and Alex Turley. Courtesy photo
The Marble Falls High School esports team is in the final round of the Vanta Esports League Fall Classic. The Mustangs will compete for a national championship Friday, Dec. 6, at 4:30 p.m. in the popular video game Fortnite after a clean-sweep victory over their first-round opponents Nov. 22.
The four-man squad of student-gamers defeated the Northview High School Titans of Johns Creek, Georgia, winning 16 games in a row during their series match.
“They just dominated every single round,” MFHS esports coach Linden Colwell told DailyTrib.com. “They’ve mastered the game.”
Fortnite is one of the most popular games in the world, with an estimated 650 million players globally since it was released in 2017. The free-to-play, fast-paced, first-person-shooter game pits teams of four against each other.
An average of 1.3 million users are playing the game on any given day. All four members of the MFHS varsity esports team are ranked in the top 10,000 players globally, according to Colwell, putting them in roughly the top 0.76 percent of active players.
In the finals, the Mustangs face DeSoto High School at 4:30 p.m. Dec. 6 from their home consoles.
“This one is going to be tough,” Colwell said. “They live and breathe video games over there.”
The Class 6A school near Dallas has its own esports arena and eight players on its varsity team. Colwell said DeSoto is the closest thing Marble Falls has to an esports rival. The two faced off in the Texas state championship this past spring. While the Mustangs won the match series, they dropped one game to DeSoto, the only defeat the Mustangs have suffered since they started playing competitively in January.
“(The MFHS players) are pretty confident going into this, but they do back it up,” Colwell said. “They’ve been practicing non-stop. Watching them play leaves me speechless.”
The coach said a win at nationals could open many doors for the players and create opportunities for grants that could further develop the Marble Falls High School esports program.