MUNCIE, Ind. – For the second time in the last three seasons, the Northeastern Esports program took home the Overwatch Esports Collegiate (ESC) Championship, the second ESC Championship of the academic year for NU, defeating Miami by a map score of 4-0 on Saturday afternoon at the Ball State Esports arena.
The final four teams of the ESC conference tournament met for a local area network (LAN) competition hosted by the reigning 2023 Overwatch champion, Ball State. The LAN featured Miami (OH), Ohio, Northeastern, and Ball State. The Huskies reached the final four after a 4-1 victory over Bowling Green in the online quarterfinal round.
The Huskies opened up LAN play against the hosts, overcoming a last-minute substitution due to illness to take the seven-game series by a score of 4-3. Starting tank player
Max 'Frisco' Innes was unavailable for the first few maps, as he was dealing with illness. Because of this, support player
Grant 'scoop' Peterson had to play out of position to sub in at tank, while
Bryce 'BryceCubes' Russell-Benoit subbed in at support. Peterson was able to the front line and leading the team to a 2-0 lead in the series. After the Cardinals tied the series at 2-2, Innes managed to return to the lineup and full-held
Circuit Royale, with the help of damage dealers
Carter 'Hedwig' Williams and
Shashi Gollamudi, to force match point at 3-2. Ball State managed to force a game seven, the first of the playoffs for NU, but a heroic performance on Baptiste from
Charlie 'QGHop' Schatmeyer clinched an overtime victory for Northeastern in the final game of the semifinal series, downing the defending conference champs.
Northeastern had little time to celebrate - after finishing the semifinal series late Friday night, the Huskies had a quick turnaround to face Miami (OH) in the championship game on Saturday, a team that had earned runner-up status in the conference tournament for the past two years. With their starting lineup back together, the Huskies had a much easier route with a 4-0 series victory over the RedHawks. The Huskies gave very little in way of chances to the RedHawks, with only a few close calls on maps two and three, but the Huskies were crowned ESC Overwatch champs for the second time in program history.
It's the second championship win for Northeastern in the ESC, the Esports program's primary playing conference, in the 2023-24 academic year. The Valorant team claimed ESC hardware in the fall semester, sweeping previously unbeaten Ball State. It's the first year in which the Huskies have claimed the ESC Championship in two different Esports titles.
