As the E-sports scene is making its debut at Perry, the Rocket League team is currently 2nd in the West Coast, but the team is expecting to steal the first-place throne back.

The title of number one on the West Coast was once in Perry’s clutches, however just this past week they let it slip away to the Millikan High Rams (Long Beach). All because “We didn’t bring our A-game,” junior Ryan Wagner stated, “Also, we didn’t have time to warm up because we had to play it early that day.”

Excluding that hiccup the RL (Rocket League) team has gone undefeated, including against last years ranked 5th place national team.   

Rocket League is an extremely competitive game, and since its release in 2015 the RL team has jammed nearly six thousand hours of game time in those short three years. The three gaming elites responsible for the highest rank this school has ever held are junior Wagner, junior Scotty Fleming, and sophomore Ethan Durbin. Wagner being the in-game leader, Fleming being the main defender, and Durbin scoring most of the goals along with Wagner. Although these positions are ever-changing during the 5-minute game depending on which side of the field the ball is on.

All of these players are currently also at the highest rank in-game (Grand Champion). Being at this high level, the opponents these competitors face are the best of the best. For example, one of the best players in rocket league Rizzo, who has two first place premier tournament wins, and came in second at this year’s major.

“Yeah, I’ve versed Rizzo before and beaten him a couple of times,” Durbin stated, “and many other professional players.”

These matches are not just fought for the spirit of the game, as the prize for first place across the nation is $5 thousand in scholarship money with the 2nd- and 3rd-placers receiving new tech, but most importantly, all of the competitors are being watched by recruiters for major league teams.

The Perry team has been putting in 2-3 hours every day practicing together after school to win back their number one spot. This training pays off every Wednesday when the Rocket League team plays their weekly match. The matches for the RL team and for all the other Esport teams can be found on Twitch.tv/phspumasesports.