St. Anthony High School to compete in E-sports State Championship

EFFINGHAM, Ill. (WAND) - The St. Anthony High School E-sports team is headed to the State Championship on Saturday.

2023 is the first year that St. Anthony has competed and it is just the second year that the Illinois High School Athletic Association has sponsored E-sports.

"I heard that they were having a meeting at lunch for e-sports and I was thinking, 'What a bunch of nerds,' — I want in. So I went to the meeting and it went from there," said Chad Volmert, Assistant Coach of the team and avid gamer himself. "Coach Zaccari had it all under control. Played versus and we got into a league and started practicing. Kids were pumped about it so it was very easy to get kids involved."

There are currently four different games that students can compete in through the IHSA.

"The games are Mario Kart — which is what I play — Rocket League, Super Smash Bros singles and crew team — that's a team of five — and then FIFA," said Sam Deters, a senior at St. Anthony and team captain.

The Ciber Dogs' Mario Kart team is the group that was able to lead the push to the State Championship.

"The rise of e-sports is neat to the point where there's something that everyone can play." Phil Zaccari, Head Coach of the team, continued, "You don't have to be able to throw a 98 mile-per-hour fastball."

The Ciber Dogs will face off in a 16-team, double elimination Mario Kart tournament Saturday for the second ever E-sports State Title in the State of Illinois.