Tyler Zhang
Competitiveness and compassion create a strong co-captain for the esports team
Zhang focuses during a match against a local school.
Photo by Jennifer Xia, Editor-in-Chief
Suhani Mahajan, Staff Writer
One of the first members of Northview’s esports team and now co-captain, senior Tyler Zhang started playing esports when he was six. Today, he ranks in the top 0.83% of League of Legends players in North America.
Zhang started playing esports when he moved from the United States to China. Unaccustomed to the new environment, as well as encountering a slight, sudden language barrier, Zhang struggled at first to integrate with his peers. This prompted him to turn to esports.
“At first, I didn't really make friends because everyone was online, but I could spend time playing [esports] and not be embarrassed,” Zhang said. “Later, I became friends with people at my school who played the same games as me, so it eventually helped.”
Zhang continued playing esports once he moved back to the U.S. and began playing League of Legends in 2017. In his sophomore year, Zhang and his close friend and co-captain, Arnest Uddin, advocated for an esports team at Northview. In their junior year, the two friends joined and organized tryouts during Northview’s first esports season.
The leadership that Zhang and Uddin demonstrated early on led them to becoming co-captains of the esports team this year. Their responsibilities stretch over more than just arranging practice schedules and preparing the team for matches. While esports is generally an independent endeavor for most, Zhang has united individual players into a well-communicating and closely bonded team.
“I have watched his leadership abilities just blossom,” Raymond Brown, the League of Legends esports team advisor, said. “[Tyler] saw that role that we needed to fill; he realized he's a senior; and he just went for it. The other players in the team look up to him, and he really creates a positive team.”
As well as a compassionate leader, Zhang is a very competitive player. On average, he will practice by playing 20 to 50 games per week, with each game spanning between around 15 to 45 minutes. He recalls his initial confusion with League of Legends when he first began playing, but he now appreciates his progress and his wider range of knowledge.
“He is willing to put his nose to the grindstone. When everyone else is done practicing he’ll still play. He’s very dedicated to what he likes to do. For many aspects of his life, if he doesn’t want to do something, he won’t do it unless he’s forced to, but when he really wants to do something, he’s going to put an end to it for sure.”
Zhang’s persistence and dedication to esports deliver results in the team’s statistics. The team was undefeated in their first season, which ended prematurely due to COVID-19, and made their way to the state championship during their first winter season.
The team suffered their first ever loss this season, emerging as the state runners-up against Lambert High School. While unfavorable, it was still a monumental moment for the team. Despite the hardship, Zhang pulled the team together toward a positive conclusion to their season.
“It's easy to stand with your teammates in victory. That's easy. Anybody can do that. But to stay with your teammates in defeat, that is where you see true spirit and camaraderie,” Brown said. “And that's what I saw with these guys. I was more proud of them holding each other up in defeat than anything they had done all season. Just watching Tyler go, ‘Okay guys, this season may be over, but we're going to come back. We're going to come back we're gonna win.’ I will never forget that; that moment was really, really powerful.”
Zhang’s focus is to improve further, and he would like to go on to play collegiate esports. But for now, he will lead the esports team one last time in their coming spring season - a team he has gotten very close to over the past year.
“We're even beyond just esports - I can spend time with them outside of esports, and the community aspect is really nice,” Zhang said. “Having them put their trust in me, not only in game, but outside too, that is a really good feeling. This is my team, and I stand for them.”
