Southeastern’s First-Seeded Mario Kart Team to Compete in First Round of Esports Playoffs Thursday

SOUTH EASTON — Four students from Southeastern’s Mario Kart Esports team will compete in the first round of PlayVS playoffs today.

The SET Star Smashers’ first playoff match will take place today, Nov. 30. The team has received the first seed out of over 70 teams in the league. The students will face off virtually against 32-seed Trinity High School from Washington, Pennsylvania in Round 1. Playoffs will continue through December.

Members of the team include junior Melissa O’Donnell, of Brockton; senior Peter Tise, of Brockton; sophomore Jordan DosSantos, of Brockton; and freshman Kai Mendes, of Brockton. The team typically practices together once per week in the Esports space of Southeastern’s cafeteria. 

“The opportunity to participate in the Esports playoffs — especially as the first seed — is an extraordinary feat for our SET Start Smashers team,” said Wade Gomes,  Advertising & Design teacher and Esports coach. “The students demonstrate great teamwork during their matches and we wish them the best of luck as they compete today.”

During Mario Kart matches, teams of four players complete three rounds of six races. Each player on a team receives points based on how they place in each race, and the team with the most points after six races wins the round. The first team to win two rounds wins the match.

Esports began at Southeastern in 2021. It is part of a much bigger movement, as Esports have grown in popularity around the world. According to PlayVS, Esports requires a tremendous amount of critical thinking, communication, collaboration, and creativity from players to achieve and sustain success.

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