Khalil Watson earns final regular season POTW honors

The final week of the PCHS eSports regular season has come to an end. So far, six of our nine teams have been confirmed for the playoffs. We are still waiting on the outcomes of other matches from across the state before the brackets are finalized. Here's a recap of this week's events.

On Tuesday, both Splatoon teams looked rusty after spring break. Our Splatoon A team lost 0-3 to Brookwood High School (#3, 7-1 overall). Our A team will go into the playoffs ranked at #8 with a 6-2 record. The B team Splatoon team also lost their match against Paideia School (#20, 5-3 overall). The B team is sitting at the #32 spot, which should secure them a bid in the playoffs. The Splatoon A team will likely face off against Decatur High School (#25, 5-3 record), and the B team will likely face off against FCS Innovation Academy (#1, 8-0 record).

Wednesday saw a dramatic turnaround, with only one of the teams losing their match. LeVaughn Scott (#7, 6-2 record) won his match against Rockdale County 2-0, and Devin Washington (#8, 6-2 record) won by forfeit to Shaw High School. Both players will be playing in the playoffs. LeVaughn will likely play Carrollton HS, and Devin will play Burke County HS. Two of our three Smash teams secured victories as well. Our 18th-ranked Smash A team (6-2 overall) defeated West Laurens HS. The Smash B team (#88, 4-4 overall) defeated North Murray HS, and our Smash C team (#42, 5-3 overall) lost 1-3 to Dougherty Comprehensive HS. Our Smash A and Smash C teams will be advancing to the playoffs.

Finally, on Thursday, eSports secured wins in two of three matches. MarioKart came ready to play against North Forsyth HS, securing a 2-0 victory. They moved up to #38 in the rankings, but it looks as if they will fall short of earning a playoff bid. Joseph Jones won by forfeit against East Paulding HS. Joseph moved up enough in the rankings to secure a playoff bid against the #3 ranked Emanuel County Institute. LeVaugh Scott (#22, 5-3 overall) lost his match to the #2 ranked Early County player. LeVaughn will face off against #12-ranked Monroe Area HS.

Our Peach County HS eSports Player of the Week for this week is Khalil Watson. Khalil is a sophomore at PCHS, and this is his first year competing with the team. Khalil plays both Smash and Mario Kart this season. Khalil almost defeated his opponent in Smash 2-0 using Steve from Minecraft and Cloud as his characters of choice. Khalil also had several first-place finishes this week in MarioKart to help his team earn a 2-0 victory in the last week of the regular season.

Playoffs start on Monday, April 15th, with Super Smash Brothers. Tune in to the PCHS eSports YouTube channel to support your players.