MARION, Ind. - The IWU Esports team had a slew of games this week, including matches with major playoff implications. And the Wildcats didn't disappoint!

Monday night started the Esports week with Smash Bros. and Valorant. Smash Bros. took on Cleveland State in a GLEC matchup, falling in a close 0-2.

For Valorant, they faced off against Hagerstown Community College in a rematch of last Spring's NECC Mideast Conference Championship. In a Division with 3 NCAA Division 1 schools, it was the underdogs of NAIA IWU and NJCAA Hagerstown that were at the top of the division heading into the match. The Wildcats started off with a bang, taking down the Hawks on the first map, Haven, by a 13-7 score. However, Hagerstown would battle back and take an 8-4 lead at the side switch on map 2, Pearl. Not deterred by the momentum from Hagerstown, the Wildcats' attack would dominate the Hawks the rest of the way, leading to a 13-11 win on the map and a 2-0 match win.

With the win, Valorant takes over first place in the Central Conference A Division. With a win against 2-4 University of Tennessee on Monday, they would clinch the #1 spot, guaranteeing them the 1 or 2 seed for the Central Conference tournament.

Smash Bros. also played on Tuesday, this time against Murray State. The Wildcats dropped the first set, but stormed back, taking the second set by one stock. The Wildcats looked poised to go the distance in the third set, their first third set of the season, but unfortunately ran into a very strong Hero and fell 1-2 against Murray State.

Rocket League also had their biggest match of the season, taking on undefeated University of Michigan-Flint on Thursday. Despite dropping game 1, the Wildcats were able to win game 2. They used that momentum to win game 3 off of a last second goal, but Michigan-Flint stormed back to win game 4 in overtime. With everything on the line in the 5^th and final game of the series, both teams locked down on defense. The game finished with a 0-0 scoreline in regulation and headed to overtime. Both teams had a few misses and a few incredible saves, but ultimately, the Wildcats finished the series off with a pass upfield from Gise Gibson, "Twizt", to Eli Bowron, "zoratta". The Wildcats moved to 4-2 on the season and will lock in a conference playoff spot on Thursday should they win over Saginaw Valley State. This loss was the first loss of the NECC season for Michigan-Flint, but they still maintain the #1 spot in the Midwest B division.

Finally, the week ended on Saturday with two GLEC matches. Smash Bros. started things off with their match against Heidelberg. The Wildcats continued their positive momentum, this time winning the first set off the back of 8 stocks taken by Josiah Bowers, "luigiboi30". IWU did not let up, using that momentum to win even more in the second set, leading to the 2-0 victory. This win marks the second win of the season for Smash Bros. They will finish off their season on Tuesday against Indiana University-Kokomo.

Finally, Valorant took on another GLEC powerhouse in Ohio Northern University Saturday night. The Wildcats kept it surprisingly close, making a comeback on Abyss and winning the first half 8-4 on Haven, but ultimately fell 0-2 in the match. That concludes the GLEC season for the Wildcats Valorant team, though they will still be able to make a playoff run in the NECC.


Standout Wildcats

• Josiah Bowers, "luigiboi30", took two-thirds of Heidelberg's stocks in the Smash Bros. win on Saturday. His 16 stocks marked the most stocks taken in an overall match in IWU Smash Bros. history.
• Jeb Byrd, "Drybbles", dominated Rocket League's match against UM-Flint, putting up 11 saves, several of which were game saving.
• Despite his first time playing Chamber in an IWU match this season, Drew Busman, "Novo", grabbed a fantastic 23-14-2 KDA on Pearl in this week's match against Hagerstown.

Next Week's Matches

Monday:

• NECC Valorant vs. Tennessee, 7pm

Tuesday:

• NECC Smash Bros. vs. IU Kokomo, 8pm

Thursday:

• NECC Rocket League vs. SVSU, 8pm

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