HSEL Newsletter: Week 3

Hi there,

Two weeks down, six to go! Welcome to week 3 of the HSEL Spring Major. Here are your updates and reminders for the third week of the season:

Valorant Game Connections

Reminder: We are transitioning to validating Valorant game connections through Riot Games. The deadline has been extended: all players will be required to re-connect their Valorant name prior to the match queue on March 1st. Players can do so by signing in, clicking “Connect Games” in the left-hand sidebar, removing their old Valorant connection, and then adding a new one. Students will be prompted to make this change every time they access the dashboard after this Wednesday’s match. Any game connection updated for this reason will not violate rule 2.7.2 (“Game Connections”).

Leaderboard Update

At the beginning of this season, we introduced a new scoring mechanic and tiebreaker for Valorant, Rainbow 6: Siege, and CS:GO: round differential. On the match pages for these games, teams are first prompted to report the "best-of" match score (1-0 or 0-1), then they are prompted to add the game score (e.g. 13-7). Please encourage your students to ensure they are reporting both the match and game scores. If any old matches' game scores are incorrect, please contact our support team for corrections!

Playoff Information

The inquiries have already started to trickle in – how many rosters/players will qualify for the playoffs? We will monitor tournament participation for the first four weeks of the season, then announce the number of playoff qualifiers, brackets, and their schedules in week 5.

HSEL Nationals 2023

In case you missed it, last week, we announced our plans for our end-of-year competition, HSEL Nationals! We will welcome qualifying players from Rocket League, Valorant, and Brawlhalla to join us for a LAN in Kansas City, Missouri, in May! All other titles, except League of Legends and Rainbow 6: Siege on console, will experience an online event. Today we are excited to share more details about the LAN event logistics and frequently asked questions.

For more information, visit this page!

Brawlhalla

Remind your Brawlhalla players about this quest! The first 250 students to complete three Brawlhalla matches and claim the associated HSEL quest will be provided an in-game code to unlock the legend Queen Nai with her “Snake Charmer” skin and both of her unique weapons.

Discord for Educators

Looking for a place to chat with other educators in esports? The Esports Educators’ Community on discord is a great place to connect with other HSEL and MSEL coaches. Join the server here! (Not familiar with Discord? Read about the app in our Discord 101 article)

Gaming Concepts

Have you been thinking about augmenting your esports program with structured activities and lessons? Generation Esports will have SIX courses available for the 2023-2024 school year, including Middle School: Exploring Life Skills Through Scholastic Gaming, and for High School, Fundamentals: A Video Gaming Curriculum For Schools. Click here to learn more about these digital resources!

Training with Pro Content from Gameplan

Starting tomorrow, February 21st at 5:30 ET, learn what Gameplan has to offer your students to up their game, both on and off the screen. Gameplan offers training, insights, tips, and tricks from current and former esports professionals. This exclusive content, including custom lessons and tutorials, can make any facilitator an esports expert. Register here!

Jerseys and More

If you are looking for jerseys or other apparel for your esports program, you’re in luck. HSEL has partnered with BSN Sports to provide high-quality, customized apparel for participating schools. HSEL schools can design their gear and set up a free storefront for free! Click here to get started with BSN Sports!