‘Valorant’ Season Wraps Up with First and Second Place Wins for Midwood's Esports Teams
The A team faces off against Bronx Science in the grand finals of the EZE Sports Valorant tournament on Feb 4 at Long Island University. Photo: Justin Cen
By JUSTIN CEN
Midwood’s A team fell to Bronx Science 3-2 in the grand finals of the EZ ESports Valorant League on February 25 at Long Island University. However, the B team rallied through and defeated Brooklyn Tech 3-0 to take home a win for the Hornets.
The regular season ended with the A team finishing 10-2, third seed in their division, while the B team finished 9-3, setting them both up for the playoffs. The B team faced off against Urban Assembly Maker Academy and the A team against Franklin Delano Roosevelt.
In the quarterfinals, Midwood’s A team cruised past FDR 13-10 on map one and 13-6 on map two to take the series and advance to the semifinals against Stuyvesant. President and IGL (In-game leader) Michael Wong ‘24 had a kill-to-death ratio (k/d) of 40:25 and was the MVP of the match.
“There weren’t any nerves,” said Wong. “Being able to defeat FDR easily, we were confident going into the game against Stuyvesant.”
The B team looked to replicate the A team’s success, starting with a 13-8 map win on Ascent. However, on the second map Split, UA Maker took the round 14-12 in overtime to tie the series 1-1. Heading into map three on Icebox, Hei Yeung Lau ‘25 took matters into his own hands, finishing with a k/d of 26:9, powering the team to take the map 13-6 and bringing the series to 2-1.
“It felt incredible defeating UA Maker because it meant that we were one step closer to achieving that goal of being champions of the B division,” said Lau.
In the semifinals, the A team faced Stuyvesant, a team they had beaten in the fall invitational two months ago. However, on the first map of Breeze, the A team went down 9-1, and with Stuy’s Richard Yom ‘24 eliminating four Hornets at match point, map one ended 13-4 in favor of Stuyvesant.
“We weren’t discouraged by the map one loss,” said Vice President Ryan Chan ‘24. “We knew that Stuy played the map a lot and we weren’t the best at it compared to them, so after the loss we decided to just focus on the next one.”
With their backs against the wall, the team started map two with a strong attacking side, ending the half 10-2. They carried that momentum to win 13-6 and tie the series 1-1.
“Breeze was the map that we were really bad at,” said Jason Huang ‘24. “We knew that it didn’t reflect our play, so we just shrugged it off and went on to dominate map two.”
“We gained a huge confidence boost after we won the second map,” Chan said. “We knew that we were back and we used that momentum to our advantage.”
Oozing confidence, the team took map three on Ascent 13-4, advancing to the grand finals.
Moving towards the B division, the Hornets started hot with a map one win on Ascent 13-5, with Jefferson Wang ‘25 and Benny Zhang ‘25 combining for 51 kills against Bronx Science.
“Since it was our first time playing on LAN [a local area network where everyone in the tournament plays], as a team it gave us the spark we needed and allowed us to feel confident going on to the second map,” said Piush Das ‘27.
Things were more competitive there, but as Zhang eliminated five of Bronx Sci’s players, the team held on 13-11, advancing to the grand finals.
“I felt like it was a turning point for me as I had a slow start during that map,” Zhang said. “The ace [five kills in a round] brought my confidence back, and we were able to close it out. My goal was to potentially go back-to-back, as last year we went to the finals and won 3-0 against Bayside High School, so I was hoping to win this year also.”
However, it wasn’t meant to be. The A Team’s first map against Bronx Science in the grand finals went to overtime, where Bronx Sci’s Dylan Wong ‘24 eliminated the final two Hornets, taking the first map 15-13.
“After the tough loss, we decided to play more slowly and methodically, playing mind games with our opponents by throwing fakes and pressuring them heavily,” said Wong.
The team capitalized on their best map, Bind, scoring a 13-8 win to even up the series, with Anson Chu ‘25 eliminating two of the last remaining players. However, the Hornets then lost the map three Split 13-5, only getting one defensive round.
“Our performance was mediocre, but we still believed [a win] was possible,” said Wong. “With the next map being Icebox, we were confident that starting on the attacking side and our sheer explosiveness would allow us to flourish on that map and force a map five.”
On Icebox, which was recently reintegrated into the map pool, Huang took over, dropping 26 kills, 9 deaths, and 4 assists with 6 first bloods. With help from Simmon Vuong ‘25’s 16 kills, the Hornets did indeed push the series to a map five on Breeze.
There, the Hornets put up a good fight, ending the half 6-6, but their defensive struggles continued as Bronx Science dominated the second half with their slow play and took down the Hornets to seize this year’s title.
“I think we played too scared, and the pressure of the series got to us,” said Chan. “We were all tired by the fourth match, so a multitude of factors affected us, but that isn’t the excuse for why we lost.”
“Even with a loss in the end, I think getting second place is a great feat,” said Secretary Sarah Diouri ‘24. “Each member sacrificed a lot of time to practice for the game, so in the end, I’m proud of them for giving it their all.”
In the B division, the Hornets went against Brooklyn Tech, who had dominated them in week two of the regular season, but Midwood didn’t back down, taking Ascent 15-13 on map one and winning map two as well.
“It felt good that we took map one against Brooklyn Tech,” said Zhang. “Brooklyn Tech were talking a lot of smack during the game, so it really fueled us to win the first map.”
“We had the mentality that it wasn’t over until we got three, but we knew that we had what it takes to win the whole thing,” said Frank Zhu ‘26.
The third map was Icebox, where Zhang took over with 33 kills, 13 deaths, 2 assists, and four multi-kills to beat Brooklyn Tech 13-11 and crown Midwood as the champions of the B division.
“After losing to Brooklyn Tech in the regular season, I wanted my revenge against them,” said Zhang. “We also made a change to where Wang was calling the shots more, and it made fragging a lot easier during this series.”
“I was super proud to beat Brooklyn Tech because we have never won against them before during our matches,” said Lau. “With much practice at home, we were finally able to beat them in the finals. It was the best feeling.”
With the Valorant teams getting 1st in the B Division and 2nd in A, many seniors are already cherishing the memories together as their season comes to an end.
“From joining the club in my sophomore year, I am going to miss all of my friends that derived from being in this club,” said Wong. “I’m going to cherish all the good moments we had, the events we attended, the wins and losses we shared, and the community we’ve built.”
Now that the Valorant season is in the rearview mirror, the team has turned to League of Legends, as the A and B teams delve into a new and exciting season.