Earlier this month, the Westside Secondary School esports team competed at Centennial College in Toronto for the provincial Valorant Esports Championship which was put on by the Ontario School Esports Association (OSEA).
OSEA is a not-for-profit organization that has scholastic esports programs for students in Ontario in grades K-12.
In preparation for the championship, students on the Westside SS team competed every Wednesday night in Westside's esports room at the school, as part of the OSEA's 5v5 Valorant League tournament. During the regular season, Westside SS dominated the leaderboard, which confirmed their place at the OSEA provincial championship.
The tournament was an all-day affair, lasting from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Earlier in the day, Westside took an overtime loss, which they used to their advantage later in the day. By correcting earlier mistakes, they managed to place first and bring home gold from the championship.
According to one of the team coaches, Lachlan Mackintosh, "This win was about a year and a half in the making as this same team lost to a team from Ottawa's Osgoode Township Secondary School, this same time last year. Westside went head-to-head in a best of three in the final against Globe Cambridge School OrcaX'."
Congratulations to students Chelsea K., Muzammil A., Karanvir B., Seth L., Josiah T-G., Marc L., and Denis P., as well as coaches Mr. Mackintosh, Mr. Gunn and Mr. Pinizzotto. The team would like to extend thanks to their sponsors UGDSB Specialist High Skills Major program and Team Geerzy.
Westside SS hopes to be back competing this April, where they will be defending last year's gold medal title in the Marvel Rivals Provincial Tournament.
