Not even 20 seconds into facing off against a university esports professional, and they were running literal circles around me.
As I ran around aimlessly, it became quickly apparent that my years playing Spyro as a kid were not going to help me here.
Coming together from the University of Auckland, the newly-formed E Blacks team beat 37 other New Zealand teams to qualify for the game Valorant, a tactical five-versus-five first-person shooter, at the Red Bull Campus Clutch World Final.
Raymond ‘Xsus’ Wang (who I faced off against), Yifang ‘Yifang’ Chen, Dale ‘signed’ Tang, Matthew ‘MaiShiu’ Wu and Nathan ‘Noir’ Roberts make up the team roster.
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Before they could take their profession international, and compete for €20,000 ($34,000), it felt only right to test their mettle against a journalist who was past their gaming prime.
Boy, did it start rough.
Raymond ‘Xsus’ Wang picked up Valorant when it came out in 2020, and has been competing ever since.
“I got hooked – I got really good at it and everything spiralled on from there.”
Jason Dorday/Stuff
A New Zealand university esports team, now part of the E Blacks, is heading to Brazil for the Red Bull Campus Clutch World Finals in Valorant. Player Raymond Wang will be competing.
His role, simply put, is to “frag, frag as much as I possibly can”. For older generations, that’s code for getting kills.
His experience and skill showed immediately, so I utilise the tried-and-true method of hiding in a corner to stop him killing me, again. It doesn’t work.
I’m forced to look at the giant red ‘LOST’ sign yet again.
Wang was hooked on shooters from a young age, about 10.
“I’m still having fun, I’ve just changed my mindset and tried a little bit harder.”
The group formed just before the Kiwi tournament, used to decide who heads overseas and swept through the competition, without losing a match, Wang said.
Red Bull/Supplied
Dale ‘signed’ Tang, Matthew ‘MaiShiu’ Wu, Raymond ‘Xsus’ Wang and Nathan ‘Noir’ Roberts make up the E Blacks heading to Brazil to compete in the Red Bull Campus Clutch World Final.
It’s here, while I’ve got him distracted on the memories of his own victory, that my tactic of hiding around corners finally works. Missing the majority of my shots, the element of surprise is enough to put me on the scoreboard for the first, and only, time.
It might not have been enough of a victory to celebrate, but celebrate I did.
While I managed to get a kill, it’s abundantly clear that not only is Xsus not trying very hard, he’s still easily beating me.
It’s like putting a Sunday league footballer up against someone playing in the Premier League – the skill it takes to play at the high level is clear.
Post-tournament, the team was told they would compete under the E Blacks banner.
“It came as a surprise to me, it’s a real honour to represent the country in something I’m passionate about.”
As for the next phase of their journey, the international side of the tournament, Xsus is confident they can win the whole thing.
“We’ve been practising pretty hard for it.”
He hopes that kids see the growing esports scene in New Zealand and jump on it.
As for how the rest of our match up went, it’s best to just say that I’ll stick to playing from my couch.
The team will head to São Paulo to compete against 50 other countries from December 13-16.