Esports heats up as the temperature falls

MEQUON, Wis. – The CUW esports team soared this past week as the Falcons competed in Call of Duty, Hearthstone, Rocket League, Rainbow Six Siege, Fortnite, Overwatch and Super Smash Bros.

The Falcons posted a 4-1 record in Super Smash Bros META solos on Friday night. Junior Gideon Cain (Cedarburg, Wis.) secured a 2-0 victory over Tulsa with Wolf. Senior Micah Chilman (Las Vegas, Nev.) also downed Tulsa with Chrom, 2-1. Sophomore De'Shawn Ford (Gardena, Calif.) locked in a 2-1 victory against Tulsa with ZSS and junior Kurtis Polodna (North Prarie, Wis.) earned a 2-0 victory over Mitchell College with a 2-0 victory with Robin.

The Call of Duty team of junior Luc Kreuser (Wisconsin Rapids, Wis.), junior Natan Bauknecht (Crandon, Wis.), freshman Sean Hofstetter (Columbia, Ill.) and freshman Hunter Kanneberg (Port Washington, Wis.) sank Northern Iowa, 3-1, and Southern Illinois, 3-2, to improve to 4-0 on the year.

Against Northern Iowa, the Panthers struck first with a close 250-247 victory in Hardpoint. The Falcons tied the match with a 6-2 victory in Search and Destroy, Sean Hofstetter had 11 eliminations in the second game. The Blue and White posted a 3-0 victory in Control and clinched the match with a 250-167 victory in Hardpoint.  Hofstetter led the flock with 89 eliminations.

"We improved a lot from our first week," said Hunter Kanneberg. "Our strategy and communication have improved a lot since our first game. It has been a great time being part of this team, something that is very new to me. We need to continue to improve but I'm excited to be 4-0, and we have to continue to grind as our opponents will get tougher!"                                                                           

The Falcons found themselves in a battle with the Salukis of SIU. The birds started with a 250-243 victory in Hardpoint. The Salukis bit the Falcons with a 6-3 victory in Search and Destroy. CUW edges SIU with a 3-2 victory in Control. Southern Illinois tied the match with a 250-144 victory in Hardpoint. The Falcons soared to a 6-1 victory in Search and Destroy to clinch the match, 3-2. Nate Bauknecht had 83 eliminations in the victory.

"4-0 is an amazing start," said coach Speedy. "But the season is long and our opponents get tougher and tougher down the line. We have to keep focusing one map at a time so we can continue this great streak."                                                                            

The Rainbow Six Seige team of freshman Sean Sullivan (West Bend, Wis.), sophomore Grant Andrada (Plymouth, Minn.), Sophomore Jake Witto (Charleston, Ill.), freshman Jake Brennan (Grafton, Wis.) and Caeden Perry started off the season with a 2-0 victory over Buena Vista. CUW won the first game on the Clubhouse map, 7-3. Sean Sullivan had 13 eliminates against the Beavers. The Falcons kept BVU off the scoreboard in the Oregon map at 7-0. Jake Witto finished the second game with 10 eliminations.

"Our team performed great," said Sean Sullivan. "Our communication was on point for being such a new team to the division and we had an easy 7-0 victory on Oregon."       

The Falcons opened Fortnite NACE duos play on Monday. The team of freshman Steve Pieroni (Danvers, Mass.) and sophomore Anthony Garron (Danvers, Mass.) finished in second place in the first round. The second round saw sophomore Colby Williams (Myrtle Bech, S.C.) and William Gillman land a third-place finish.

"We had a really good second but I wish we did the same thing for the first game," Williams stated. "I'm looking forward to next week."

The Overwatch team of junior Rebecca Gehm (Frankenmuth, Mich.), sophomore Tony Mastrocola (Waterford, Wis.), freshman Caleb Dunst (Bonduel, Wis.), sophomore Margaret Vesey (Cudahy, Wis.), Nick Adelmund and Andrew Wahl took care of business in the season opener against Hood College, with a 2-1 victory. Hood started the match with a 2-0 victory in the first game. The Falcons took game two, 2-1. Margaret Vesey had 42 defensive assists and Nick Adelmund had 60 eliminations. In game three, the Falcons won, 3-1, Caleb Durst had 26801 damaged blocks and Adelmund finished with 47 eliminations.

"I am super proud to see this team start the season with a win," said head coach Lewis Smith. "We have been putting in the work, and although we can't get complacent, a Week 1 win is good validation that we belong."

Junior Jackson Kral (Kohler, Wis.) split the week with a 3-1 victory over COACHE, he won with the Zoo Warlock, Weapon Rogue and Libroom Paladin decks. Johnson & Wales College then downed him, 3-1.

"He got me on the warlock," said Kral. "But after that, it was repeated instances of not getting the cards I needed or my opponent happening to have the one card in their deck that could stop me from winning. Not too much I could do."

The Rocket League team of senior Alex Reimer (Sheboygan, Wis.), senior Ethan Koch (Fredericksburg, Iowa) and junior Austin Esterly (Lombard, Ill.) fell to 0-2 on the young season. Ethan Koch had seven goals on the week. Austin Esterly finished the week with 17 saves.

Freshman Evan Moody (Milwaukee, Wis.), sophomore William Bushie (Watertown, Wis.) and sophomore Aaron Huntley (Green Bay, Wis.) fell in Rocket League action to Fresno State, 3-2. The Bulldogs won the first two games, 3-0 and 5-3. The Falcons fought back with 1 2-1 victory in the third game and a 3-2 victory in game four. The Bulldogs finished the match with a 5-0 victory in game five. Evan Moody and Aaron Huntley both had four goals and all three players have seven saves.

The Falcons will continue to compete this week.