The Bow Esports team was down to just a few lives in the Super Smash Bros competition against Manchester Memorial in the state semifinals. Carter Monroe stepped in and pulled off a huge comeback.
The path to winning the program’s first state championship has been a long one. The last two years, the team suffered defeats to Londonderry in the finals. Last year was the first officially sanctioned NHIAA competitive video game tournament.
On Saturday at SNHU’s Esports Arena, Bow won it all with two lives remaining against the Londonderry Lancers in a showdown of giants. The team dispatched Farmington (8-0), John Stark (6-0), Memorial (1-0) and Londonderry (2-0) to crown themselves.
“It felt like back in my little league days. You know, bases are loaded, you’re up to the plate, you’re down by two, or whatever, ninth inning,” Bow Coach Sam Dixon said.
It was redemption, but also validation.
When Dixon and co-head coach Allan Sheehy stepped up to create an Esports team, they wanted to make a positive impact on students. Many of these gamers had never represented their school in competitions in a traditional sense, yet the team gave them some of the same lessons as athletes in the field.
The small group of Esports players, Carter Monroe, Alex Edraos, Zachary Cannon, Cole Mathieu and Matt Kropp, all grew into better players week-over-week throughout the season.
They learned how to lead, how to communicate and strategize, how to fraternize and understand each other. They learned how to play as a unit in pursuit of a shared goal.
Monroe was especially catalyzing for the team this year as an experienced senior still hunting for a win with his friends.
Of course, not everybody saw Esports in the same way that Sheehy and Dixon did. The administration was always supportive, but a certain stigma exists around Esports, and how it’s not a “real” sport.
Regardless of what others thought, the team persisted. Now, they’re champions with medals, a banner and the whole nine yards.
“What I really enjoyed about the win was that we came back to school and it felt as though Esports is finally a thing,” Dixon said. “We’re state champions. We’re kind of the talk of the school today.”
“It’s given us a level of legitimacy,” Sheehy added.
The team is hoping the legacy of their win will persist long after they’re gone. The event on Saturday was the largest field of competitors in the brief history of the newest NHIAA sport.
Sixteen teams participated in Super Smash Bros alone, not to mention the Fall/Winter Rocket League championship. As it grows, Bow has left its mark.
They celebrated with a team dinner after, medals still around their necks.