Esports pushes onward towards the playoffs
MEQUON, Wis. – The CUW esports team fielded another strong week of competitions. The Falcons were able to compete in eight contests over the past seven days and move closer to postseason play.
"The playoff push is in full effect right now," said head coach Lewis Smith. "Hearthstone was able to clinch their spot and now Smash Bros and Fortnite are close to clinching themselves. This is like our midterms. Nobody is cracking under the pressure though and flunking out so we are definitely ready for the brighter spotlight."
The Falcons claimed a victory 2-0 rivalry victory over MSOE on Friday night. The CUW team of junior Ryan Schroeder (Seattle, Wash.) and junior Gideon Cain (Cedarburg, Wis.) won the first game 12-7 with Palutena and Wolf. Both finished with six kills. CUW then cruised in the second game with a 12-4 victory with Palutena, Daisy and Byleth. Schroeder led the flock with seven kills.
"I felt really good tonight and I think I played my best," said Schroeder. "The team as a whole was right where we want to be. The arena was hype and our game plan, coaching, and strategy were on point."
The victory sends the Falcons to 3-1 on the year and a win-and-in match against Concordia St. Paul for a spot in the playoffs.
The Blue and White duo of senior Charles Kingma (Port Washington, Wis.) and junior Jack Kral (Kohler, Wis.) landed a 1-1 record in Hearthstone on the week. The Falcons opened the week with a 3-1 victory over Wyoming. The Bomb Warrior deck for the Falcons defeated the Cowboys' Bomb Warrior deck in the first game. After the Face Hunter deck fell for the Falcons in the second game, it bounced back to defeat the Highlander Hunter deck in the third game. The Soul Shard DH deck secured the victory in game four over the Libroom Paladin deck for Wyoming.
"It was a great match," said Kingma. "Everything went well for us and we were able to out aggro the opponent. It was a good morale boost."
The Mustangs of Southern Methodist ran a 3-0 victory over CUW on Tuesday. The Soul Shard DH deck fell short in the first game and the Bomb Warrior deck lost in the second and third games.
The Blue and White are now 1-1 in the Fall Split Two season and have the Fall Split One playoffs on Friday.
In Rocket League, the Falcons ended with a 1-1 record on the week with the team of senior Alex Reimer (Sheboygan, Wis.), senior Ethan Koch (Fredericksburg, Iowa), junior Andrew Burk (Townsend, Del.) and junior Austin Esterly (Lombard, Ill.). In the PlayVS Fall League, CUW opened the week with a 1-3 loss to Wisconsin-La Crosse and closed with a 3-0 victory over East Carolina.
"We kept a positive mindset throughout the game and that led us to a victory," said Esterly.
Monday night saw the Falcons land a 34th-place finish out of 144 teams in the Fortnite PlayVS Week Five Tournament. The team of freshman Kodee Keys (Dupo, Ill.), sophomore Austin Lichtenstein (Johnsburg, Ill.) and sophomore Colby Williams (Myrtle Beach, S.C.) secured top-10 finishes in three rounds, with a sixth-place finish in round two, a fourth-place finish in round four and a 10th-place finish in round five.
Lichtenstein led the team with nine eliminations on Monday night.
The Blue and White currently have the 26th-ranked team in the nation.
CUW will compete in seven competition during the upcoming week.
