MARION, Ind. - The IWU Wildcats Esports team kicked off their Fall regular season this week! With three NECC conference games, there were plenty of action-packed matches!

The new Wildcats Valorant team started the week off, taking on University of Ottawa on Monday night. With the Wildcats getting placed in Division VIII and the East Conference, the game had potential playoff implications.

And the Wildcats proved that they were a new team, since the first map of the best of three series was Bind, a map the Wildcats consistently banned last season. However, to start this season, they exploded off to a 9-3 start in the first half. Offense was the name of the game for them, because when on Defense, Ottawa stormed back to even things up and sent the game to overtime. The Wildcats got to start on attack in overtime, where a close round gave them map point. Finally, it was big flank triple elimination from Sophomore walk-on Nick Everett, "oziie", that gave the Wildcats the win on Bind!

Map 2, Sunset, was the pick for the Wildcats and again they did not disappoint. Yet again, they took the 9-3 lead in the first half. But again, Ottawa stormed back. Tthis time the Wildcats were ready. After 6 straight round wins, IWU took a deep breath and reorganized, winning the final two rounds of the map and taking a 2-0 sweep on the match!

Along with Everett, two more Wildcat newcomers played alongside the two returning sophomores of En Milbourn, DIce", and Evan Stoller, "PokevanXD". Ryan Slain, "Rhino", and Gunnar Wegg, "ayric", join the Wildcat starting lineup this Fall. The Wildcats will look to keep the momentum rolling against Edinborough University of PA next Monday.

The next night, Smash Bros kicked their regular season off against Washtenaw Community College. Despite a rough first set, freshman Justice Rodriguez, "PancakesDoesArt", grabbed 5 stocks for the Wildcats in the second set. However, the effort was not enough, as IWU would lose the second set and the match 2-0.

Finally, Rocket League closed off the week on Wednesday night in the Name Game, a battle for Wesleyan Supremacy between Indiana Wesleyan and Illinois Wesleyan. After a win last season in the GLEC, the IWU title was solidly in the hands of the Wildcats. However, with a new addition to their starting lineup, the Illinois Wesleyan team was ready to fight.

What they may not have been ready for was the Wildcats' own addition, a freshman standout named Harrison Gilbert, "Farriex". Gilbert, combined with a career game from sophomore Gise Gibson, "Twizt", and the ever-talented Jeb Byrd, Drybbles", stormed off to a 5-1 win in game 1. That game included a Gibson hat trick on 60% shot accuracy. After that, the Wildcats never looked back, taking 3 straight games and winning the series 4-0. Fan favorite Eli Bowron, "zoratta", even got to rejoin the starting lineup in game 4, scoring a goal on two shots.

While the Wildcats got put in NECC Division IV again this year, the team looks like a completely different team. Fans will be able to see them in action again on Wednesday when they take on Illinois State.


Standout Wildcats

• IWU Valorant seems to always have dynamic duos and this year is no different. Both sophomores, En "DIce" Milbourn and Evan "pokevanXD" Stoller, lead one map each in average combat score. Stoller had an impressive 54-34-18 KDA in week 1
• Justice "PancakesDoesArt" Rodriguez made a name for himself to start the season. His 5 stocks in set 2 gave the Wildcats a fighting chance and his 6 stocks in the match were the most for the Wildcats
• Gise "Twizt" Gibson had a career game against Illinois Wesleyan. The sophomore captain scored a hat trick in the very first game of the season and finished with 6 goals overall

Next Week's Matches

Monday

• Valorant vs. Edinborough University of PA, 7pm EST

Tuesday

• Smash Bros. vs. Wayne St. University, 7pm EST

Wednesday

• Rocket League vs. Illinois State University, 7pm EST

As always, you can catch all the action at twitch.tv/IWU_Esports

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