MARION, Ind. - Not only were there four Esports matches this week for the IWU Esports team, but most of them had major playoff implications.

Valorant's typical Monday match kicked off with a bang. The undefeated Wildcats took on 1-3 Pace University, starting on Ascent, which was Pace's pick. Despite it being the map pick for Pace, IWU blasted off to a 10-2 halftime lead and never looked back, taking the map 13-3. On the Wildcats pick, Bind, it was more of the same. Another 10-2 lead at half, with Wildcat standout Evan Stoller, "Pokevan", recording his second ace of the season in round 13. Stoller leads the Wildcats in that category. While Pace did make a late comeback, the early lead was too much as the Wildcats took the map 13-6.

The 2-0 win was the 4^th in a row for the Wildcats. It also set up a huge match at the end of the week, as the Wildcats looked to wrap up the number one seed in the conference.

Smash Bros. was up next, taking on the number one team in the division, Saginaw Valley State. While the Wildcats struggled in the first set, losing 5-0, they didn't give up, battling hard in the second set. Finally, after the dust had settled, the Wildcats had lost a very narrow 2-0 set to the best team in the conference. CJ Bloomer, "T0PP01NT", and Justice Rodriguez, "PancakesDoesArt",  have been battling all season for most stocks taken in the match. This time, it was Bloomer who took the crown with 7.

Finally, we came to the two matches of the week. Undefeated Rocket League took on the only other undefeated team in their division, Minnesota State, on Tuesday. In a battle of titans, the match would put the winning team in a fantastic position to wrap up first place in the division. The Wildcats made an absolute statement in game one, winning 4-1. MNSU battled back in the second game, but the intense defense from the Wildcats held them scoreless as they went on to win the game 1-0. With all the momentum at their back, the Wildcats had everything they needed to win game 3. So, despite a short overtime, they took the 3-0 lead after a 3-2 overtime win. With the 3-0 lead, MNSU had to win in game 4. And win they did, in a dominant fashion, 6-2.

Most teams in that situation might have lost it. All the momentum gone and a lead that was slowly dwindling. But not the IWU Wildcats! After letting up the first goal of the game early, they scored 3 straight, eventually winning the game 5-3 and the series 4-1. The win moves the Wildcats into sole possession of first place in the Midwest B Division and puts them in the driver's seat heading into the last two games of the regular season.

And lastly, in a similar situation to the Rocket League team, Valorant had one more match on Friday. This one was a rescheduled game, as the #1 Wildcats took on #2 Lebanon Valley College. Both teams had fantastic results throughout the season and so both were looking to take the lead in the division late in the regular season.

The Wildcats had a favorable map/pick draw, getting to start on Lotus, one of their stronger maps. IWU was ready to go, taking a massive 7-1 lead. Both Evan "Pokevan" Stoller for IWU and Andrew "Juice" Houck were top 5 in the conference for several stats, so the battle between the two raged. This time, Houck led his team to a huge comeback on lotus, eventually tying the map at 7-7 before pulling away late. Despite the 13-11 loss on map 1, the Wildcats were not deterred heading into map two, Bind. This time, it was Stoller's turn. He led the Wildcats to a 6-6 comeback draw at half. Senior En Milbourn, "DIce", recorded his first ace of the season late in the game, while Gunnar Wegg, "ayric", had several massive clutches towards the end of the map that led to a 13-10 win for the Wildcats.

Finally, it all came down to map three, Sunset. The map was technically a pick for LVC, though the pool had been banned down to just two maps and both schools had played well on Sunset in the past. Would it be Stoller or Houck that would make the difference? Unbelievably, neither! Despite being a true freshman and having just picked up playing Valorant on mouse and keyboard this fall, Ryan Slain, "Rhino", had the best map of his season when it mattered the most. His incredible performance led to the Wildcats locking down their defense and forcing a 6-6 tie, before storming through their attacking rounds and forcing match point at 12-9. After a great team play on defense, with four Wildcats securing kills, the Wildcats took the map 13-9 and the match 2-1! The Wildcats are still undefeated, looking to potentially secure the number 1 seed for the East conference on Monday, when they take on Wilkes University.

Next week will be another one you won't want to miss! So make sure your follow the Wildcats at twitch.tv/IWU_Esports!

Standout Wildcats

• It was a performance of the season for Valorant Freshman Ryan "Rhino" Slain on Friday. His 284 average combat score on Sunset led the Wildcats, his first time this season leading in that category. Slain also moved up to 4^th place in the division for assists this season.
• CJ "T0PP01NT" Bloomer had a great performance against #1 SVSU on Tuesday. He took 7 total stocks, including 4 in the first set
• Jeb "Drybbles" Byrd continues to make a great case for conference MVP. He led the Wildcats in goals in 4 of the 5 games on Wednesday, scoring 8 total goals and a hat trick in game 5

Upcoming Week

Monday

• Valorant vs. Wilkes University, 7pm EST, Livestreamed in Century Dining Room

Tuesday

• Smash Bros. vs. IU Kokomo, 7pm EST, Livesteramed in RWC 137

Wednesday

• Rocket League vs. Carthage College, 7pm EST, Livestreamed in Century Dining Room 

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Follow Esports (@IWU_Esports): Twitter | Twitch





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