On Saturday, April 27, Catholic Central’s Esports Team participated in the Michigan High School Esports League (MHSEL) Spring 2024 Semi-Finals and Championships hosted at Oakland University, where two of their four teams (Rocket League and Super Smash Brothers) won the State Championships and qualified for the 2024 PlayVS Cup, a National tournament.

The MHSEL had a record-setting year with 164 schools enrolled and more than 700 teams and 3,000+ students competing.

Catholic Central came into the tournament ranked #4 in the state for Rocket League and defeated #1 Divine Child and #2 Linden to win the State Championships. Smash came in as the #1 seed and defended their title.

The semi-final matchups were Super Smash Brothers vs. Ludington (3-1) and Rocket League vs. Divine Child (4-2). The final matchups were Smash vs. Farmington (3-2).

Super Smash Brothers is the first team in program history to go undefeated with a record of 26-0 and win back-to-back State Championships in the Fall of 2023 and Spring of 2024. The last game in the tournament was extremely close, but Lance Toma ’25 pulled through for the win and took home the Most Valuable Player Award in Smash.

Rocket League played Linden (4-1), who has previously won the last two State Championships. After losing the first match, Catholic Central went on to win 4 games in a row, becoming the new State Champions.

The Rocket League team was led by All-State player, Jacob Bennett ‘24. 

Additionally, Ian Lee ’25 and Ben Yancey ’25 also received recognition for making All-State, and Head Esports Coach Stephen Juncaj ’18 was awarded Coach of the Year.

Here is a breakdown of the team’s individual awards this year:

• Ben Yancy: Overwatch 2 All-State selection

• Jacob Bennett: Rocket League All-State selection

• Ian Lee: Valorant All-State selection

• Lance Toma: Super Smash Bros. Ultimate All-State selection & Player of the Year

• Stephen Juncaj: Coach of the Year Finalist & Winner

Rocket League beat 108 teams and Smash beat 208 teams to take home their respective State Titles. Both teams qualified for Nationals on May 20 and Finals on June 5 and 6 with the opportunity to win thousands of dollars. The team can be watched at Twitch.tv/DCCEsports.

Catholic Central brought home the two hardest trophies to win (Smash & Rocket League). When asked, Coach Juncaj said the season has been a great success!

CC also has a Valorant and Overwatch Team. The Valorant Team made it to the semi-finals and was eliminated by Novi, and the Overwatch Team made it to the quarter finals and lost to De La Salle. The full 23-24 schedule can be found here: https://dccshamrocks.net/sports/esports/schedule/2023-24.