MARION, Ind. - This week officially started the Spring regular season for the IWU Esports team. Both Valorant and Rocket League are competing this season, with Valorant getting placed in NECC Division VIII and Rocket League in NECC Division VI. After a second and fourth place finish in the conference postseason respectively, all eyes were on both teams as they looked to continue their runs towards Nationals in April.
The Wildcat Valorant team finished preseason 1-1, so there were certainly doubters heading into the regular season. The doubters were quickly silenced though after the Wildcats absolutely dominated their opponent, Wartburg College, 13-1 on Bind. After finally waking up, Wartburg got back into the game on Breeze, forcing a 6-6 tie at the half for Wartburg's map pick. But the Wildcats dashed their hopes on attack, finishing the map 13-10 and the match with a 2-0 win.
Rocket League's Wednesday game got postponed to Friday night, so the fans had to wait a little extra to see how the new Wildcats roster would perform.
Kinleigh Bounds, "QueenKiki", got her first start in an NECC game Friday night, so there was a lot of expectation. Despite an early 2-0 lead, it was their opponent, Missouri School of Science and Technology, that took the overtime win. The Wildcats weren't demoralized though. They kept fighting and made a comeback and overtime win of their own in game 2, winning 3-2. Two more close games (3-2, 3-1) led the Wildcats to match point. After back and forth play combined with great defense from both teams, the game headed to overtime. And it was none other than the new starter Bounds that finished the only goal of the game in overtime to give the Wildcats the 4-1 match win!
With those wins, IWU starts off the Spring season as they began the Fall season: wins for both the Valorant and Rocket League teams. They'll look to continue that momentum next week. Due to the way the NECC schedules games, there is a chance Wednesday's Rocket League game against Augustana will be rescheduled to a different day. However, Valorant's match on Monday against Cleveland State is confirmed for 7:15pm EST.
Standout Wildcats
- Valorant Senior Evan Stoller, "PokevanXD", started the season off strong. He led the Wildcats in KDA with a 49-19-5 overall performance and an incredible 22-5-3 KDA on Bind
- Sophomore Captain Gise Gibson, "Twizt", and Freshman phenom Harrison Gilbert, "Farriex", had a dominant performance in Friday's Rocket League match against MST. Both players had a combined 11 goals, with Gilbert finishing with a hat trick in Game 4
Upcoming Week
Monday
- Valorant vs. Cleveland State, 7:15pm EST, Livestreamed in Century Dining Room
Wednesday
- Rocket League vs. Augustana, time TBD, May be rescheduled
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