Valorant Season Recap

By Joshua Klausmeier

MEQUON, Wis. - The CUW Esports Valorant team made their debut this semester, and what a debut it was. Still, as a new game with an emerging scene, this team came together in a last-minute fashion over the Summer. What started as 5 players that had never played with each other before ended as a closely-knit team that made a strong statement.

The team consisted of Josh Imlah as the team captain, Sam Boehlke, John Hoeler, Adam Hedman, and William Partain. Before the Fall, a couple of these players were Fortnite and Call of Duty players, but this group committed to working hard and it showed. What helped the most was the expertise and guidance of the Valorant coach, Jack Slater, who used to be a professional Counter-Strike: Global Offense player, a game similar to Valorant.  

The team competed in the National Esports Collegiate Conference (NECC) in the Navigators Cyan division. They finished the regular season with a record of 5-3, which led to a big win in the Quarterfinals over Alabama-Huntsville. Unfortunately, their season ended in the semifinals with a loss to in-state rivals University of Wisconsin – Eau Claire.  

Even though this team lost in the semifinals, they went from a ragtag group of gamers to the 4th best team in their division. They gave every match their all and had an exceptionally good inaugural season. Give this team time to practice more with each other and learn the game even more and they will be winning championships in no time.