Autumn Season 2025: Week Two - The Undefeated Streak is Over
The undefeated streak is over! We suffered two losses this week, which, from my perspective as a teacher in a leading Esports school, is never entirely a bad thing. Losses reveal character; how will the team respond? How will they leave the room, still happy, still smiling?
Not only did they do that, but they also returned for Open Day to represent the school in a really positive light. As part of the thriving esports scene in York, moments like this show the resilience our students develop.
Minecraft "Juniors" beat Thornton College 2-0
I should really start calling them something else by now, shouldn't I? They're no longer the Junior team, either in age or in experience. I've explained to several of them that they're going to be considered "the old hands" now. They've all had people, teachers and other students, some they don't even know, come up to them and congratulate them and ask them, with a mix of awe and envy, if they REALLY finished top 2 in the world. Esports has made them celebrities within the school. For many, it won't be their last taste of stardom- we prepare our students for everything at QE.
This game reflected how far the team have come in a year. Thornton College have done a fantastic thing, an all-girls school throwing itself into the world of esports. This time last year, we were them. Newbies, just starting. How far the team has come in just one year. We have had a few girls join the team recently, and we were able to field four girls of our own in the match. With our recent association with Her Game Too, this was a proud moment for us. We stormed to a convincing, dominant win, and the girls of Q-Esports did the school proud. An especially proud moment for Sriya, who made her competitive debut for the team and slotted in beside Hannah and Hudson in a dominant attacking formation.
Rocket League lost 4-1 to Carlisle Mythos
A strange game, this one. Two members of the Mythos team seemed fairly amateurish, having a basic grasp on the controls and largely not looking like they knew what they were doing. This player commanded the entire game, was everywhere, and could read the game eight or nine seconds in advance (George, probably the best reader of the game on our team, works about three or four seconds ahead). It was down to this player that Carlisle won, and there's no shame in losing, especially not to someone of that quality. It was excellent for our team to have a chance to play against someone of that level, see how the game can be read, and where one can position oneself to be best place to influence the game. They walked out talking seriously about how they would deal with the situation should it come up again. Ethan, when he attended Open Day, spent the whole time showing me how he was adapting his playstyle to be able to take players like the Carlisle superstar on.
A strong, professional approach.
Valorant B lost 13-7 to Wigan and Leigh Wildcats
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This is one of those losses that feels like a win. We went 8-0 down before we even took a single round. Captain Stephen looked over at me after we won one round and said, "Think we can beat them, sir?" He was chuckling, but wasn't joking. The team hasn't been together long, and there are plenty of stories of teams suffering badly after their first loss. Not Q-Esports. They kept supporting one another, trying new things, and turned what could have been a walkover into a match which wasn't quite as one-sided as it initially may have looked. |
We are the first team this year to take any rounds off Wigan & Leigh, so I'm proud of them for making it such a close game, and even prouder of their burgeoning team spirit. This resilience is part of what makes York esports such an exciting and rapidly growing scene.
If you are interested in joining Q-Esports, join us at our next Open Day or book a private tour of QE College. Fill out the contact form to learn more.
