After many hard-fought matches in their latest tournament bouts, Humber Esports' Valorant team has placed third at the No Man’s LAN 17 tournament, where six teams competed at St. Clair College in Windsor, Ont.
No Man’s LAN is held in the college's Nexus esports facility and is the Saints' local tournament that's open to all collegiate teams.
The Humber Esports Valorant team saw the March 29, 2025, tournament as a chance for redemption after their disappointing loss in the NACE league.
Although Tedward Gaming won the tournament, Humber saw finishing third as a sign of redemption and improvement.
Team captain Mohid Ali said he’s very proud of the team’s performance. He said the team played the best they ever have despite not enough consistency because of so many player changes.
“Bringing fresh blood to a LAN is always a difficult task as the pressure and nerves build up naturally; however, under the light of pressure, I can happily say the new Valorant members showed what they are made of,” he said.
Humber Esports Valorant team player Charles Parsons said the third-place finish showed how much more they can prove and how high their level of play is.
Parsons has found himself too busy for a while which halted him from being able to participate in any Valorant tournaments, but being able to participate in this tournament was a great introduction for him into the competitive Valorant scene.
“Participating in this tournament made me realize how much I wanted to play this entire season,” he said.
Humber Esports Valorant team player Rafael Lofranco, who is participating in a tournament for one final time, said third place wasn't the goal they had in mind, but they were very proud of the team for reaching that position.
“Going into the series, some of us were worried how well we'd do with a new player composition and with little time to prep, but we did really well correcting our mistakes during our practice runs, and that's what we strived the best at,” he said.
The team believes some aspects were improved upon, which were previously complications they used to face and held them back.
Ali said he believes what the team sought during the tournament was confidence.
“Over the past couple of months, something we really lacked as a team was the confidence and trust in each other's abilities. At the LAN, we solidified our resolves and gave it every last drop we had,” he said.
Parsons said he also believes the team strived with confidence going into the tournament, believing in each other and playing at their best possible performance.
While improvements were made, the team still believes there are some aspects of their performance they could have done better during the tournament.
Ali said the most significant thing about playing a single-day tournament is the amount of time it takes, bringing unseasoned players who haven't played under intense conditions for a long period has its difficulties.
“Even for myself, as someone with experience in these long days, I went into the tournament with barely any sleep and ended up burning out in our last map. Burnout is the biggest enemy of single-day LANs, and a lesson to learn for anyone wanting to compete,” he said.
Parsons said he also thinks the team needs to improve its overall endurance, as they did experience burnout in the last series, which they lost 2-1.
Between the matches, teams are expected to be given a 30-minute break, however, Humber Esports faced a three-hour-long break, which they feel put a big dent in their overall performance.
Ali said he believes it wasn’t best for the team, and it halted their momentum, something that took effort to bring back.
“It's not easy to constantly shift between fired up and performance mode to standby and waiting,” he said.
Lofranco said the three-hour break was another major factor for the team’s loss.
“After our two consecutive wins, our team was pumped and ready for the third match. We ended up waiting multiple hours because of another team leaving in the middle of the tournament, and while waiting we got exhausted and burnt out,” he said.
The tournament winner, Tedward Gaming, has several Humber alumni. Indeed, the top three teams are stacked with current or alumni Humber players, and that doesn't surprise Ali.
“The culture and passion that's grown and nurtured in Humber Esports is so amazing that everyone puts their soul into proving why we are moving up in the ladder,” he said.
As the team has finished their most recent tournament matches, they are now focused on improving even further to achieve peak performance.
Parsons said his current plan is to grind back up and be at his best form, to prove that the team is greater than what some people think.
“My goal is to work on my new roles and continue improving my mechanics. As a team I overall think we just need to practice more often than we did prior to this tournament,” he said.
Ali said the season is now over for the team. There are a few things they could still play as a collegiate team. But it’s just development and grind time until they have a tournament lined up.
