Esports: Mountain Vista Repeats as Splatoon State Champions
LAKEWOOD – For the first time in Colorado’s short esports history, a team has defended its state championship, as Mountain Vista won its second-straight Splatoon title on Tuesday at Localhost.
“I thought we were already setting a legacy by winning the first-ever CHSAA sanction Splatoon championship [last year], but now we have a dynasty to keep on going, and that just feels really special to me, the team and the coach,” junior team captain Owen Lamb said. “We had a pretty significant roster change, which was a huge challenge for us and the team. But I feel like this championship shows that we were able to work through hard challenges such as that roster changes and come through. I feel like that’s a valuable lesson for not just us, but anyone who wants to succeed in general.”
Mountain Vista Big Swig Express entered the tournament as the No. 3 seed and knocked off No. 14 Stallion Splat (Sierra), 3-0, in the first round to advance to Localhost. The group defeated No. 6 Wicked-Fresh Salmon (Ponderosa), 3-0, in the second round and No. 2 Falcon Fresh (Highlands Ranch), 3-1, in the semifinals to advance to the big stage for a second-straight season.
There, they defeated Chatfield, 3-1.
“It means a lot to me… it means a lot more to these guys… and I think it means a lot to the kids that started this program,” Mountain Vista coach Michael Lee said. “I’m just here to support and so I’m just glad it means a lot to them.”
Splatoon officially became a CHSAA sanctioned game a year ago, and Mountain Vista returned three players from last year’s inaugural state championship team, as Drew Plug, Joe Buck and Lamb were all on that state championship team. Landon Elliott joined the group for this year’s title.
This 2025-26 school year marks the fourth year with esports as an official CHSAA-sanctioned activity.
Top-seeded Chatfield Splatoon Varsity (Chatfield) advanced to the finals by knocking off No. 4 RMHS Lobos Varsity (Rocky Mountain) in the semifinals, 3-1. Prior that, it had defeated No. 9 Valor Eagles (Valor Christian), 3-1, in the second round and No. 16 Chaparral Splatoon Varsity (Chaparral), 3-0, in the first round.
