Matthew (Moose) Lopez
Social Media Editor
The Texas A&M University-San Antonio esports team took a 2-1 victory over the Texas A&M International University Dustdevils on March 8.
The game took place in the game room and lounge at A&M-San Antonio. The teams play each other online but the match is viewable on their twitch channel.
The teams duked it out in the video game Valorant. Valorant is a five on five, first-person tactical shooter with an array of fantastical weapons and powers at the player’s disposal.
The game employs strategy, communication and fast reflexes. The objective of the game is to overtake the other team’s area by “planting a spike” or eliminating all the opposing players. The teams alternate between defending and attacking.
They play a best of three where each round comprises multiple matches. The round is decided when a team wins 13 in a round first.
Head coach Aaron Jaggers was proud of his team down the stretch. Jaggers said he saw individuals go above and beyond their typical performance to seal the win.
In terms of overall improvement, Jaggers preached patience and unity.
“[The Dustdevils] play incredibly patiently,” Jaggers said. “The other team dedicated the pace of play…they play slow, we had to adapt and play slow too.”
In the first round the Jaguars had an early lead but the Dustdevils quickly took control of the pace of the game, taking the first round.
The second round was almost a repeat of the first. The Jaguars had lost their early lead but rallied down the stretch to take the overtime victory. Overtime is essentially deuce. If both teams are at match point then whoever wins back-to-back matches first will take the round.
The final round was a chaotic back and forth. Neither team would give an inch until the Jaguars buckled down and clutched out a victory, beating the Dustdevils 12-10.
Communication freshman Aaron “Atlas” Suhor cited the overtime victory in the second round as a key contributor to the win in the final.
“Our momentum was really high,” Suhor said. “Especially since it was an OT win, it really puts pressure on the enemy team, especially [their mentality].”
The Valorant team’s next match will be against the Miami Dade College Sharks at 7 p.m. March 15. The match will be live streamed on the Jaguars’ twitch channel.
