Esports season winds down
MEQUON, Wis. – The CUW esports fall semester is starting to come to a close. The Falcons competed in five events over the past seven days.
"It was a bittersweet ending to our Fall Rocket League and Hearthstone seasons," said head coach Lewis Smith. "We didn't learn anything from being gifted a forfeit win in Hearthstone, and Rocket League ended with one very strong performance and then a lackluster effort. As a whole, each squad still grew a ton this season and I expect a massive spring for both teams."
The Fortnite team of freshman Kodee Keys (Dupo, Ill.), sophomore Austin Lichtenstein (Johnsburg, Ill.) and sophomore Colby Williams (Myrtle Beach, S.C.) finished in 20th place in the PlayVS Tournament on Monday night. Keys led the flock with 16 eliminations on the evening.
"We played very well this week," said Williams. "We took it seriously so we could get ready for the playoffs. We have a few things to clean up but be ready for a big performance in the playoffs."
The Hearthstone duo of senior Charles Kingma (Port Washington, Wis.) and junior Jack Kral (Kohler, Wis.) closed the semester with a 3-0 forfeit victory over Kansas Wesleyan.
"Not the type of win that we wanted to end our season on," said Smith. "We wanted to use this series for experimentation, so instead we just have to keep practicing at a high level."
The Hearthstone team ended the split with a 3-4 record.
The Falcons finished the week with a bag of mixed results in Rocket League. On Thursday night, the team of senior Alex Reimer (Sheboygan, Wis.), senior Ethan Koch (Fredericksburg, Iowa), junior Andrew Burk (Townsend, Del.) and junior Austin Esterly (Lombard, Ill.) cruised to a 3-2 victory over Louisiana Tech. The Bulldogs took the first game, 2-0, but CUW responded with 1-0 and 3-2 victories in the second and third games. After falling in the fourth game, 2-3, CUW clinched the match with a 1-0 victory in the fifth game. Koch scored the lone goal in the fifth game, he also led the team with seven saves. Esterly led the CUW scorers with four goals.
This series felt nice," said Koch. "We had a nail biter in every game. We just kept up the pressure, kept the ball on their side of the field, and cashed in when we could."
The season ended on Monday with a 0-3 loss to Purdue. The Boilermakers rode 4-3, 4-0 and 4-1 victories to secure the match. Reimer had two of the four goals for the Falcons and Koch collected six saves.
"A lack of communication killed us," said Reimer. "We weren't any worse than them, we just got too quiet. That was an annoying way to end the season."
The Falcons added a new team this past week in Call of Duty: Warzone. The team of junior Josh Klausmeier (Lathrup Village, Mich.), senior Dylan Karvala (New Berlin, Wis.), junior Christian Prohl (Downers Grove, Ill.) and senior Jacob Holst (Hartford City, Ind.) started on Monday in the Crucible Quads Tournament. Karvala finished the competition with 42 eliminations, including four in the fourth game where the Falcons finished in first place as a team.
"We do a good job of knowing our roles in the squad," said Klausmeier. "We have been doing better when we stick together instead of one person pushing and the other three stick back."
The Blue and White have the PlayVS Fall Season Playoffs on Monday for Fortnite.
