Novi High School esports team continues dominance

NOVI — Novi High School’s esports team is one of the largest and most successful programs in Michigan, and this school year was no different.

The team recently capped off its spring season with a state title in the Super Smash Bros. Ultimate and Overwatch 2 game categories.

"(I am) proud,” said Overwatch 2 senior captain Elbert Zhang. “I had a roster willing to stick with me for two years, and I’m glad I was able to lead them to multiple championships and make history in Novi esports before I left."

Novi’s esports team continues to make history seemingly every season. Novi has celebrated a lot of successful teams over the last few years, and this year is proof that the future is still just as bright.

“Since most of our team was new to competitive esports, we weren’t expecting much,” said junior Smash Bros. captain Zac Apuada. “But thanks to everyone’s hard work, we’re very happy with the success we’ve had. We’re excited to see y’all next year.”

Apuada won the Michigan High School Esports League Player of the Year award for the 2025-2026 Smash Bros. season, as he remains the only undefeated player in the series this year, which is an incredibly rare feat. Zhang also won MHSEL Player of the Year for Overwatch 2, which highlights the talent on Novi’s team.

“Zhang is just a great leader. He’s amazingly skilled at the game … but at the same time creates a culture of accountability where everyone is trying to get better,” Novi esports head coach Chris White said. “And personally, I think Apuada is the best high school Smash player in the state. … He’s undefeated, and I haven’t found anyone else who has done that in MHSEL.”

As Zhang explained, Novi wasn’t expecting to be as successful as the team ended up being this year. There was a lot of turnover from previous seasons, and the team had a handful of players who had never competed before. In the end, none of that mattered.

“At the beginning of the year, I wanted to set expectations around growth, and I’m not going to worry about how many trophies we get at the end,” White said. “Well, it turns out we got some trophies anyways … and I have to give all the credit in the world to our captains.”

Despite not having any seniors on the Smash Bros. team or the Rocket League team, the group was able to win a state title and finish top eight in the respective titles.

The success of the Novi esports team isn’t just a fun story for those who participate; the school and the district are taking notice as well. Novi Community School District even has plans to invest in and support the program in new ways in the future.

“I’m excited for our school’s bond project that got passed in the fall of ’25,” White said. “There’s going to be some new facilities … and our superintendent and architects have already committed to building an esports lab. And that’s going to make a huge difference.”

Currently, the team plays at the Novi Athletic Club, and while the team is appreciative, the program is excited about playing and competing on campus.

“The athletic club has a wonderful esports center, but there are always some costs when you don’t play inside of the school,” White said. “It makes it harder to have spectators, and it makes it harder for students to travel to it. It’d be really nice to have a facility to call our own.”

To learn more about the MHSEL visit massp.com/esports.