The Baldwin esports Super Smash Bros. team defeated Canon-Mac’s fourth team 3-1 in the first round of playoffs on Monday. 

Coach Nathan Elias was proud of the team’s performance, noting that freshman Christian Hritz had a strong match.

“We had some clutch performances to win a few games throughout the series,” Elias said. “Christian had a nice set yesterday. He played well against his opponent and won 2-0.”

Junior Zach Czapko agreed that Hritz stood out, but did raise a concern regarding the next playoff round, which will be played Wednesday. 

“All four of (Canon-Mac’s) teams made it to the playoffs. We played their weakest team, and we beat them barely,” Czapko said. “I’m not confident going into tomorrow’s game, but with enough work, I think we can get there.”

One way he said they could prepare is by practicing against more people.

“What we need to do more is we need to practice against people we don’t know, so we can use the online servers for that,” Czapko said.

Their next match will be on Wednesday against Canon-Mac’s first team in the Round of 16.