Graphic by Sage Setty/The Choate News
Boar Pen, Choate’s student-run hype squad, most recently organized a Choate versus Deerfield Esports tournament in conjunction with Deerfield Academy’s hype squad, DSPN.
Boar Pen, headed by Beau Luther ’20, Eloise Morgan ’20, Sophie Ray ’20, and Ahmed Wise ’20, has a mission to bring school spirit to the campus by organizing events such as Pep Rally and Silent Night. Most recently, in lieu of remote learning, the group has turned to creative ways to keep athleticism and school spirit alive.
While stay-at-home orders and lockdowns have led to the cancellation of physical sports, many have used Esports and video games as a way of connecting with friends and competing with one another. During the weekend of April 10 and 17, members of Boar Pen and DSPN held an Esports tournament that showcased a variety of games on PlayStation 4 (PS4) and Xbox such as NHL, NBA 2k, Fortnite, FIFA, Madden, Rocket League, and Call of Duty.
The PS4 players competed on Friday night, and the Xbox players followed on Saturday evening. Choate was represented by a wide range of both current upperclassmen and former students. “I know many students, especially the seniors, are still mourning the loss of having one last chance to compete against Deerfield this spring,” Ray said. “While this obviously wasn’t a total replacement for that, I think it helped.”
The tournament was originally supposed to last one weekend, but the two schools ended in a 5-5 tie after the first few
days of games. Both DSPN and Boar Pen agreed to host another round of games the following weekend, and Deerfield narrowly defeated the Wild Boars 7-4, winning the tournament 12-9 after two weekends of competitive gaming. The Esports tournament was streamed on the gaming platform Twitch, which enabled students from both
schools to view the competition and tune into the chat section to voice their input or cheer on their friends.
Choate’s PS4 FIFA player Samuel Maldonado ’20 said, “The tournament was a great idea, but I think the first weekend was better because there was more spirit.” More than 200 people tuned in to each game that weekend. He continued, “Being far away from Choate, it’s nice to be able to get a sense of the school spirit, whether that’s online or in-person.”
When his FIFA game was over, Maldonado shared how many of his friends and peers called him to congratulate him, and he appreciated that students took the tournament seriously.
“One might think that because it’s a video game, no one is nervous. But because so many people are watching, there’s actually a lot of pressure — you’d be surprised.” Maldonado played both weekends and won both of his games.
Xbox NHL player Andrew Carmody ’21 added, “Although it was Esports, many students were still there watching and supporting, and it just made me even more excited to return to campus and compete next fall.”
Although Carmody lost his game the first weekend in overtime, he won 7-1 the following weekend. He said, “It was good to get some revenge. Obviously nothing compares to a real, live game against Deerfield, but it was good to at least get something.”
Although geared toward fostering a competitive atmosphere, the tournament also enabled students to enjoy a break from these challenging and isolating times. Boar Pen was also able to establish a better relationship with their counterparts from Deerfield through the process of organizing the tournament.
“From a Boar Pen perspective, it actually helped us create a friendly relationship with our equivalent at Deerfield,” Ray said. “We were able to set the rivalry aside, which doesn’t happen often between our two schools.”
