MARION, Ind. - Last week's Fall Break did nothing to slow the Wildcats Esports team down, as they continued to build positive momentum heading towards the second half of the Fall season.
For Valorant, they started off the week with a big match against Marist University. Marist had some good wins coming into the match, meaning the match had potential playoff implications. All eyes were on both teams as Map 1, Lotus and the map pick from MU, kicked off. It was the Wildcats who pulled away with a big lead, going up 8-4 at half. It seemed like it was the Wildcat's map to win, as they jumped out to match point in the second half. From a 12-6 scoreline, Marist took four rounds in a row and all the momentum from IWU. Just when things seemed like they were going south, four different Wildcats got an elimination before finally defusing the spike to give IWU a 13-10 map win!
On Map 2, Corrode and the Wildcats' pick, it was more of the same. A strong 9-3 halftime lead for Indiana Wesleyan, before a huge comeback from Marist. With the Wildcats up 10-8, it seemed like it might be another close map. But this time, IWU was able to win 3 of the last 4 rounds and take a 13-9 win! The 2-0 win keeps the sweep streak alive for the 3-0 Wildcats. It also puts them in first place in the East A division.
Smash Bros. was up next on Tuesday night, as they took on Valparaiso. The Wildcats had their best set of the season in the first set, winning 7-0 off of 7 stocks from
Justice Rodriguez, "PancakesDoesArt", and 5 stocks from
Keyton Tipple, "Dangerdoge". However, the Wildcats struggled in set two, losing the momentum and just barely losing the set, 1-0. Now, with all the momentum in their favor, Valparaiso was able to handily win the third set, 5-0 and complete the reverse sweep. The match is the second time the Wildcats have gone to set 3 this season and the closest they've been to winning a match this Fall.
Finally, the Rocket League team headed into their third match of the season. This match was a big one for a ton of reasons. First, the match was being streamed on the national NECC league livestream channel, twitch.tv/necc_esports. Second, the match was against Northwestern College, a team that was fighting with the Wildcats for a top spot in the conference playoffs. And third, and most importantly, the match was being dedicated to Dylan Martinez. Dylan was a former teammate of several players on the IWU esports team and competed at Westfield High School. Unfortunately, Dylan was in a major car accident in September that left him in a coma. Tuesday, the Martinez family decided to take Dylan off of life support. Dylan's life and legacy were honored by both the NECC and Northwestern College by a moment of silence and a show of solitude on the field. While the loss of Dylan Martinez was devastating to many, the life and legacy he lived is a reminder to all of us to live our lives to the fullest.
With all the motivation in the world, the Wildcats came out ready to play. Game 1 was a 2-0 victory for the Wildcats, but Northwestern College didn't go away. An incredibly defensive game led to a 1-0 win for the Wildcats in Game 2, followed by an offensive showcase in a 4-2 win for IWU in game 3. Finally, now with a match point, the Wildcats finished off strong and took the game 2-0, winning the series 4-0.
The Wildcats Rocket League team has appeared on the main NECC channel twice in the past two years. Both series have been 4-0 shutouts. The win moves the Wildcats to 3-0 on the season and first place in the Midwest B division by one game over also undefeated Minnesota State. While the Wildcats Rocket League and Valorant teams have seen their fair share of conference championships, no Wildcats Esports team has won a Conference Championship in the Fall season. Right now, it looks like it might be a race between the Valorant and Rocket League teams for who takes that honor first.
Next week will also feature some action packed games that you won't want to miss! The lineup features both the first place Valorant and Rocket League teams taking on their second place challengers, so make sure you follow IWU Esports on Twitch so you don't miss out on any of the action:
https://www.twitch.tv/iwu_esports
Standout Wildcats
- Nick Everett, "oziie", was an unknown commodity when he joined the Wildcats Valorant team as a walk-on the beginning of this Fall semester. He hadn't played much Valorant at all before this season. However, after his dominant performance this week against Marist, leading the Wildcats in Combat Score on Lotus with 337, he is now 5th in the division in combat score and the Wildcats' leader in that category.
- Justice "PancakesDoesArt" Rodriguez has been a statistical leader for the Smash Bros. team. This week was no different, as he put up 13 stocks taken, his most this season. He currently leads IWU in stocks taken this season.
- While Harrison Gilbert, "Farriex", might not have led in many stats on Wednesday, he was a teammate and friend with Dylan Martinez. The way he composed himself, despite the circumstances, and helped the team get a big win was inspiring to many.
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