Esports Week Three - "Just remember to keep breathing."
It is Week Three of the Esports tournaments, and F1 24 is in the spotlight. A team of three fantastic students is fighting to keep Q-Esports in the league past the first stage.
F1 was the surprise hit of last year—a competition I expected to be quite understated, possibly even a sideshow compared to some of the other teams we had competing. Absolutely not. The team of Zach, Mac, and Captain Cody refused to be ignored. As you all know, they were superb.
This year, the competition is much tougher, with more than double the teams competing compared to last year. F1 has decided to run the first half of the season as an elimination bracket: if you're not in the top 30 teams in the country by the end of the Winter Season, you're out.
"Every race is a cup final," I told them, deciding not to mince words. "Every second, every tenth of a second you're on that track, it means something. You can't let up for a moment." I wondered how they would respond to the pressure.
Q-Esports thrives under pressure. Two races in quick succession. Cody and Mac are in the chairs, with Zach providing support and analysis. We've got some new chairs that we knew would improve our performance, but by how much?
You can see the races here in a video that's been watched by thousands here.
The First Step on The PodiumFirst race: Mac immediately puts points on the board for Team QE with a brilliant 4th-place finish, with Cody in 7th. Second race: It was incredibly tense. Cody had a brilliant qualifying lap and started in 3rd place. During the race, pushed back a few positions, Cody kept fighting, kept pushing. "Just remember to keep breathing," I said into the voice comms—more to myself than to them. Cody's expression was unreadable, but he occasionally murmured to himself. At one point, in the final lap, he muttered, "I could have them here." I flicked my eyes up to the screen just in time to see the driver in front panic slightly under the pressure Cody was putting on him, take a wider line through the corner, and Cody pushed through. Second place. A first podium finish for Q-Esports! Incredibly valuable points on the board, a wonderful performance, and our brilliant, brilliant team is up and running again. Their new equipment and a chance to practice before the race led to fantastic success. I look forward to seeing them race again in a couple of weeks, and I know you do too! Week 1 of F1: 6 points |
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