LCI Samurais are International Champions
On Wednesday, June 5th, the Lethbridge Collegiate Institute Samurai defeated the Novi High School Wildcats in the PlayVS Cup VALORANT Grand Finals to claim the championship. The grueling best-of-three series went back-and-forth between the two teams, with LCI taking the set after a spectacular game three overtime victory.
The LCI Samurai demonstrated great teamplay, coordination, and mechanical skill as they took down the previously undefeated Novi HS Wildcats and earned themselves nearly $10,000 CAD in scholarship awards for their students.
“It feels great to put Canadian talent [on the map],” said LCI esports coordinator, John Thai. “It honestly feels amazing that we are putting ourselves in the limelight and that we have the talent to back it up.”
This young LCI roster, composed of mostly grade 9 & 10 students, has thus far proven to be an unstoppable force in the North American scholastic esports scene. Earlier this year, the team claimed 1st place at the inaugural Alberta Esports Championships, hosted in their hometown of Lethbridge.
When asked about his program’s journey to success, Thai stated it hadn’t always been so easy. “At the beginning of the year, they walked into things with a big ego. I had to teach them to enjoy winning, but also to manage losses and difficulty. As time went by, they learned that they had to be great at winning, but also great at losing. They learned that they only grow by learning from their mistakes.”
The LCI esports program is one of the most advanced in the province of Alberta. The staffing team alone consists of a combination of 20 teachers, division staff and student volunteers. “It took a whole ship”, said Thai. “Everyone on board had to be 100% committed.”
The city of Lethbridge has made great efforts to support the growth of academic and recreational esports initiatives in the region. Thai acknowledged that a key component to his program’s success was the amount of support his division’s IT department provides to the program. Koji Nagahama, who works as a Division Technology Support specialist, also serves as the division’s esports coordinator, providing on-site support for all scholastic esports programs in the district.
Winning a championship for your school and city is always a cause for celebration, but Thai says it’s not about that. “At the end of the day, winning is amazing, but seeing the players smile and interact with each other, being happy for a victory in a team setting: that’s my cup of tea…” There are many examples of similar programs across the country providing these experiences to their students, and the LCI esports program puts student experience at the forefront.
“If we did not offer this program, would they ever have had this chance?”
For more information about the LCI esports program, connect with John Thai at john.thai@lethsd.ab.ca
