Mt Albert Grammar School's Premier side in HSL deals with major roster turnover

Mt Albert Grammar School's Premier side in the eSports High School League has had to deal with a major roster turnover.

Mt Albert Grammar School's Premier side in the eSports High School League has had to deal with a major roster turnover this year.

Three of their starting five that took them to the Premier final in the second split of last year have departed.

This has presented an opportunity for new players to join the ranks, although it hasn't been a smooth transition.

But Ryan Thom, the teacher in charge of esports at Mt Albert Grammar School, said they had made positive strides in the past few weeks.

"The team has had a few issues at the start of the year regarding finding good replacements for last year's team," Thom said.

"As a result we went into game one of the year with very few scrims resulting in some communication issues. But things are starting to build nicely and the boys are working well together."

Mt Albert opened their split with a loss to rivals Mt Roskill Grammar School's No 1 team, which served as a rematch of the grand final from last year's second split that Mt Roskill won.

"I think that it is fantastic to have another team of such a high calibre to test ourselves against," Thom said of the rivalry with Mt Roskill.

"The boys can measure their individual talents as well as see the progression as a team.
"They had a good win in the first game and we look forward to getting back at them next time."

Mt Albert, who have won their past two outings, can exact some form of revenge when they meet Mt Roskill's No 2 team in the Premier Division tonight in what shapes as an exciting match-up.

In the match of the round, Mt Albert No 1 will meet fellow undefeated side Rangitoto College.

Macleans College versus Howick College will feature live on Sky Sport at 5pm. It will also be broadcast online at Twitch.

Aside from their squad in the Premier Division, MAGS also has three teams in the second-tier Challenger competition that has 45 teams competing from across New Zealand.

"That is likely to grow in split two with large amounts of students asking if they can join," Thom said.

"The chance to play in the top team and be on TV at SkyCity is also a big draw card.

"We even had students approaching us wanting to learn how to play League of Legends, which is another testament of the increase in interest in esports."

Having esports available to students has provided the opportunity to represent the school in another platform.

"I think that being part of a team with like-minded students is really helpful; they can talk about something they have a passion for and can make new friends," Thom said.

"It has also given students who may not have been part of perceived traditional extracurricular activities a chance to participate and experience this side of school life."