On Jan. 30, the eSports Valorant varsity team participated in their first match of the semester against the University of South Florida.

Senior environmental science major Alberto Linares-Cervantes has been a part of the eSports team since his freshman year. Linares-Cervantes is now an officer, manager and player on the Valorant varsity team titled ‘Valorant Ruby’.

“The plan for the eSports team this coming semester is to have a nice season and hopefully bring a trophy.” Linares-Cervantes said.

According to team members, they have only had about two weeks to prepare for their first match as well as having some line-up changes this semester.

Linares-Cervantes believes that Valorant is a game with a lot of variety.

“It takes a lot of aspects from other games that people may enjoy like the strategy, as well as it can be fast-paced.” Linares-Cervantes said.

Freshman Computer Science major Caleb Youngblood, also a player, describes Valorant as a five v. five shooter where one team defends and the other attacks the opposing team.

“Last ones alive win or whoever can get the bomb to blow up the place,” Youngblood states.

The eSports team will also be participating in other matches with games such as Overwatch, CSGO, League of Legends, Super Smash Bros., Fortnite and Rocket League.

Freshman nursing major Ashlyn Bedford explains why SEMO having an eSports team is beneficial.

“Honestly, I feel like it’s [e-sports] pretty high value because it gives gamers an outlet whether they want to compete or just like come out and hang out.” Bedford explains.

Despite the team's efforts, they did lose to USF in the Valorant match, but they still have the whole semester’s season ahead.

The rest of the season will be available for streaming on Twitch at SEMOEsports.