Bulldogs Esports Competes In State Tournament For Overwatch 2

The Hampton-Dumont-CAL competed in the IAHSEA State Tournament for Overwatch 2 on Feb. 26. Esports assistant head coach and Overwatch title coach Dustin Epple said that it was pretty cool for the team to make it to the state tournament, but knew it could be a challenge as the team would have to go up against bigger schools.

“Last year we were in a little bit of a different bracket,” Epple said. “I knew it could be rough if we made it to state, our specific division wasn’t too bad but the class we were in had a lot of big schools.”

Epple said the Bulldogs had an undefeated regular season which he was happy about. 

“I really think we did as good as we could do,” Epple said. “We got to see a lot of new younger talent come in as we are graduating two of the starters and they are two of the better players this year. So we are already rebuilding the team from that. I don’t think it went as well as the students wanted but I think it went as well as it was going to go. So I was pretty proud of them.”

The team lost their two rounds at state. Epple said that next year he hopes that the Bulldogs go up against similar sized schools when they get in their brackets. Epple said that either way the team is ready for next year. Epple said he was pleased with the team overall.

“They are very positive and a lot of new leadership is stepping up and it is looking like we are going to be more versatile,” Epple said. “We had to play some games without some of our star players recently in the other league we play in. And some of the other players are starting to step it up and show some real promise so I am excited for next year.”

For the returning players, Epple said one thing he thinks the team can take away from this year is experience as the team had only two starters that had competed in state before. Epple said he thinks the three players competing at state for the first time got a lot of confidence.

“I think having to get their game back and shake the nerves off a little bit and I think all three of them built a lot of confidence down there,” Epple said. “Just like anything you have to walk before you run. So I think we got some good experience out of it. For me as long as we are not coming home negative and looking at everything in a negative light and we are looking at everything as a learning opportunity I think that is a major success.”