Esports: Cherry Creek Avenges Loss, Wins League of Legend State Title
LAKEWOOD – Last year, Cherry Creek was unbeaten in the regular season but was eliminated in the League of Legends quarterfinals. The No. 1 overall seed this year, Creek Varsity LoL was determined not to fall short of the in-person finals.
On Monday at Localhost, the newest Cherry Creek squad not only participated in the finals but won the whole thing, defeating Cherokee Trail, 2-0, in the championship match.
“It kind of feels like we’re taking revenge on the whole tournament,” Cherry Creek senior captain Anthony Park said. “It feels, honestly, unexpected. But we had a lot of fun. I’m glad we won and to take home the trophy, it feels amazing.”
To reach the championship match, Cherry Creek won 2-0 over Vista PEAK in the semifinals. In the opposite semifinal, Cherokee Trail won 2-1 over Highland.
“We have a really talented team that’s been working for a long time to make this happen,” said Cherry Creek head coach Alexandra Bak, whose team won the Rocket League title in 2022. “They played some of the best I’ve ever seen them play tonight and it was really exciting to watch them finish. We had great performances from every individual on the team and I could not be more proud of them.
“This year’s League of Legends team in particular is special to me because it’s a really special group of seniors who have been playing together for a long time. It’s really great to see their efforts from the past couple of years come to fruition like this.”
In the quarterfinals, Highland won 2-0 over Arvada West, Vista Peak won 2-0 over Colorado Early Colleges Douglas County, Cherry Creek won 2-1 over Mountain Range and Cherokee Trail won 2-0 over Centaurus.
Vista PEAK and Cherokee Trial made the semifinals in both Rocket League and League of Legends.
Highland made its first appearance at the state championships and reached the semifinals.
The 2023 school year is the second year the Colorado High School Activities Association is crowning officially sanctioned champions. Last fall, Grandview won the first sanctioned League of Legends title
“We’re so happy to see esports gaining some traction because these kids are so incredibly talented with what they do,” Bak said. “It gives them a chance to represent their schools and represent their communities, as well as just get attention for being tremendously talented at what they do.”
