Feeling burnt out, junior Jake Lawrence took off his headset after playing 12 hours of Valorant. He had just won 10 consecutive games and achieved a ranking of 700 out of 3.5 million Valorant players in North America.
“[Ranking in the top 700 players] shows me that I know how good I am at the game and that’s why I spend so [many] hours honing in on my skills … getting to that top 500, No. 1, I want to be better than I already am,” Lawrence said.
Valorant is a first-person gunplay video game where two teams of five players battle each other as either attackers or defenders. The attackers’ role is to plant a bomb, known as the spike, while the defenders’ role is to either defuse the spike or prevent it from being planted.
Different teams are categorized into competition levels, known as Tiers.Tier 1 and Tier 2 teams are considered professional, while Tier 3 is considered semiprofessional. Lawrence is currently part of a Tier 3 team.
Lawrence has competed on multiple teams, his most recent one being Equinox, which he played for from March to April this year. To try out for the team, Lawrence was asked to play multiple Valorant games in randomized teams to showcase his skills.
During tryouts, coaches pick out players who are good at communicating, shooting, aiming, using utilities and those who fit in with the team best, Lawrence said.
“Honestly, I was ecstatic when [Equinox] took me because I’ve been working for years to achieve this sort of goal,” Lawrence said.
Lawrence practices Valorant for three to four hours everyday.
“It seems like a lot of hours,” said Lawrence. “But when you’re playing at a [semiprofessional] level like this, there are people who are putting in more hours than you. And if that’s happening, they’re always going to win. You have to want it more than somebody else.”
According to Leah Domos, roster and schedule manager for Equinox, he has a strong positive mentality and maturity she did not expect out of a high schooler.
“I believe he’s set up for success,” said Domos. “I believe in this kid so much to do such great things in the esports scene, and I feel blessed to be a part of his journey because he is such a mature and kindhearted person.”
According to Lawrence’s teammate, Jacob Brumfield, during the finals of a tournament when the team was losing 10-7, Lawrence helped keep the team focused, helping Equinox win the tournament.
“Sometimes when we’re losing, we’ll definitely be down,” said Brumfield. “But he’s always there to cheer us up and hype us up. And I would say that that definitely helps us.”
According to Jake Lawrence’s mom, Jennifer Lawrence, his passion for video games began during the pandemic as a way to keep him connected with his friends.
“I think my girls would have said during the pandemic, ‘Jake was built for the pandemic,’” said Jennifer Lawrence. “Because his whole life was online, so he had no problem making that transition.”
Jake Lawrence hopes to play Valorant competitively in college for either the Ball State University or the Boise University Valorant teams.
“There are so many days where I felt like I was at the bottom of the barrel where nothing’s going right,” said Jake Lawrence. “And then some days feel like I’m going to be one of the greatest players just to stand on Valorant. Having that sort of combo, it just feels like joy. I feel so much hope within me.”