Esports opens October play
MEQUON, Wis. – The Falcons competed in six competitions on the week as the calendar flipped to October.
"The smash crew made a big statement in their league debut," said head coach Lewis Smith. "Not only did they win, but they dominated! Those guys have been absolutely grinding over the last few weeks, and it was rewarding to see all that work pay off right away. I really wanted to see Fortnite carry their momentum from week one into week two, but it wouldn't be 2020 without a week getting postponed."
In Rocket League, the Falcons opened the week with a 3-2 victory over the Maize and Blue of Michigan. The Falcons grabbed game one against the Wolverines, 3-2, with two goals from senior Alex Reimer (Sheboygan, Wis.) and three saves from junior Austin Esterly (Lombard, Ill.). The Wolverines were victorious in game two, 2-0. The Falcons took back the lead with a 2-0 victory in game three. Michigan knotted the match at two with a 2-1 overtime victory in game four. Senior Ethan Koch (Fredericksburg, Iowa) and Austin Esterly scored the goals to be the victors of the match with a 2-1 victory in game five.
"Our communication throughout the game was key to our overall win," said Esterly.
The Blue and White then fell 3-1 to Wisconsin-Stout to close the evening. CUW fell in the first game, 5-6, with three goals from Alex Reimer. The Falcons tied the match with a 1-0 victory in game two with the lone goal from Ethan Koch. UW-Stout would close the match with two victories.
The Hearthstone team of junior Jack Kral (Kohler, Wis.) and senior Charles Kingma (Port Washington, Wis.) fell twice on the week. The duo opened the week with a 0-3 loss to Southern Methodist. The King Druid deck fell twice in the first two games and the Sword and Board deck fell short to close the match.
"Just not our day," said Kral. "It was play after play after play of not getting what we needed and our opponents getting what they needed. However, we have our eyes set on the next match."
The Falcons then fell short against Iowa State, 1-3. The Face Hunter deck gave the Falcons an early lead, but the Bomb Warrior deck went 0-for-3 for the Blue and White against the Cyclones.
"When the one card that your deck is built around never gets drawn, it's hard to win," said Kral.
The Falcons opened competition play in Super Smash Bros during the week. In a practice scrimmage against Syracuse, CUW fell, 1-2, after winning 9-6 in game one, the Orange struck back with 9-5, 9-7 victories.
"We gained a lot of new matchup experience and held our own against some very skilled opponents," said Gideon Cain. "Overall, this was some good preparation for our league matches coming up."
In the first match of the year the Falcons soared to a 2-0 victory over Southwest Minnesota State. The team of junior Gideon Cain (Cedarburg, Wis.), sophomore Angel Uriostegui (Round Lake, Ill.), junior Ryan Schroeder (Seattle, Wis.) and junior Nathanael Quezada (St. Charles, Mo.) earned a pair of 12-5 victories with the team of Daisy, Lucas, Wolf and Palutena.
"We had a strong and solid start to the league with a huge victory," said Uriostegui. "On to the next one."
The Monday night Fortnite completion was postponed due to server issues.
The Falcons will compete in seven events over the next week.
