Downey High students win national esports tournament

DOWNEY – A combination of Downey High School students and alumni took first place in the United States Marine Corps (USMC) Valorant Challenger Esports Tournament held in December. 

This tournament, which was open to anyone ages 16 years and older, was held over two consecutive weekends and brought 32 teams from across the nation together to compete. 

Downey High School’s team that took the winning title, Downey Vikings: Good Friday, was made up of two alumni, Isiah Chavez and Nathan Ha (Class of ‘21); two seniors, Fazian Najmee and Gabriela Avlia, and one junior, Mia Nguyen.

The team made it all the way to the finals and ultimately were named champions of this global tournament despite this being the first time Downey Vikings: Good Friday had ever competed in the USMC Valorant Tournament. 

To prepare, they practiced twice a week, focusing their tactics on efficiency and defense methods as well as held scrimmages against other teams to refine their skills. They also used this time to hone their communication and teamwork skills, both useful inside and outside the gaming realm. 

Downey Unified provides over 20 Career Technical Education (CTE) programs and pathways to their students and esports is an important facet of the district’s College and Career Initiative. 

According to recent statistics, the global esports industry is expected to generate $4.75 billion by 2030. With experience on an esports team, which is an opportunity provided to students in Downey Unified, they get a glimpse of the rapidly growing gaming industry and are able to learn more about the wide range of career opportunities that expand much further than just gaming and video game design. 

There is a natural connection between gaming [esports] and STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Art and Math) related careers, where students can apply their skills to discover the areas that interest them most. 

Having students engaged in esports, and in turn STEAM courses, creates a connection between gaming interests and STEAM related careers. These include those careers in the technology end of video games as well as other STEAM related careers such as computer science, research or medicine.

Learn more about Downey Unified’s College and Career Initiative as well as get a glimpse into their many CTE pathway offerings by visiting www.downeymade.net