MARION, Ind. - Both Valorant and Rocket League faced adversity last week, so all eyes were on how each team would respond. We got our answer in three key matches this week.

Valorant got to start on Monday night, as they took on Southern Illinois Carbondale, a rematch of Fall's Central Conference Quarterfinals. The Wildcats went back to starting Aaron Stoller, "Monke", so there were questions about how the roster would perform.

However, before the match could start, the Wildcats were given a gift after SIUC was forced to forfeit the first map of the series due to the NECC's tardiness policy. So, all the Wildcats needed to do was win Pearl, which they managed to do handily. The final score on Pearl was 13-5, which bumps the wildcats up to a 39-9 round differential so far this season.

Rocket League played two matches this week, one GLEC match and one NECC match. After a tough loss to Ohio Northern in the GLEC, there were questions about how they would respond as well heading into Wednesday night's match against Tiffin. The match was an important one for playoffs and playoff seeding, so the Wildcats came out swinging, taking the first two games of the series. Tiffin stormed back, tying the series up 2-2 after four games. However, the Wildcats composed themselves and went right back at the Dragons, taking the last two games and winning the series 4-2.

Now with some momentum in their favor, the Wildcats looked to improve to 2-0 in the NECC against St. Cloud State on Thursday night. The series was back and forth, with the Wildcats leading 1-0 and then 2-1 before the series headed to game 5. A clutch goal from Jeb Byrd, "Drybbles", evened the score for the Wildcats, before Gise Gibson, "Twizt", sealed the series with two more goals.

The win moves the Wildcats to 2-0 in the NECC and one of the early favorites to win the Central A division. They now have a 5-1 overall record this Spring season.
There will be several more games next week, most of which will be crucial for playoff positioning and seeding for both teams. So make sure you check out the IWU_Esports Twitter and Instagram accounts for more updates!


Standout Wildcats

- Aaron Stoller, "Monke", went 8 rounds without a death on Pearl, despite this being his first start of the season. He finished with the lowest deaths of any Wildcat on Pearl, with just 5 deaths in 18 rounds.
- Jeb Byrd, "Drybbles", had 10 total goals this week against Tiffin. The high scoring performance was the most goals in one series for any Wildcat in the Fall or Spring season so far.

Upcoming Matches

Monday
- NECC Valorant vs. Union Commonwealth, 8pm EST

Tuesday
-GLEC Rocket League vs. Cleveland State, 8pm EST

Thursday
- NECC Rocket League vs. Concordia St. Paul, 8pm EST

Saturday
- GLEC Rocket League vs. Shawnee State, 12pm EST
- GLEC Rocket League vs. Muskingham, 1:30pm EST


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Follow Esports (@IWU_Esports): Twitter | Twitch




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