Esports fall season recap

HIGHLIGHT PLAYER: Abraham "P3tal" Khan

This semester, the Overwatch team reached new heights with the new roster and renewed vigor. The addition of Chris "Bani" Benell to the coaching staff and Abraham "P3tal" Khan as a Contender's level hitscan dps along with other freshman players like Kashir "Kashir" Khan overall levelled up the team to contesting the top 3 in the nation. Throughout the semester, the team made the effort to integrate their freshman players, both into campus living and playing in the collegiate field, and their efforts paid off as the team quickly proved in both the NACE league and Overwatch Collegiate Homecoming that they were a force to be reckoned with. Near the end of the semester, there were some notable drop offs, as even though the team beat long-time rivals UNT in the NACE league, they finished top 8 at the Overwatch Collegiate Homecoming before getting a chance to duke it out against Redbird Esports. The fall is a build-up period for the team, and going into the spring players are confident that they'll be able to assert themselves into the top 3 before the end of the spring semester.

HIGHLIGHT PLAYER: Varun "_trey5" Siva

The Smash semester was mildly disappointing, but not for the individuals play level. Rather, CSL chose to pursue a singles-format tournament bracket, leading to there being less tournaments to compete in generally. So while in person competition returned locally in the form of singles tournaments ran by Freaks, the lack of organizers led to the continuation of online play for the main crew battle league, Collegiate Smash Brothers. In this, the team still shined, and with standout addition Varun "_trey5" Siva rounding out the team with a Minecraft Steve flavor, they never dropped a series in the Collegiate Smash Brothers playoffs. Unfortunately, this semester is the last for long-time coach Chaynen "Sun" Casas, and though the team will still be mostly intact otherwise, Sun's presence will be missed as one of the inaugural members of the Smash team.

This is by far the highlight of my collegiate experience, I'll never forget it and I don't regret anything.

— Chaynen "Sun" Casas, Smash Ultimate head coach

HIGHLIGHT PLAYER: Frederick "R1val" Dehner

The Rocket League team had a semester that didn't meet their goals, dropping out of the Western CRL playoffs in third and leaving the USO Experience Invitational earlier this weekend. That's not to say that they didn't play well, placing second in the regular season for the Western conference and generally improving their play over the fall and winter split. But the team's goals were to place amongst the top in the nation, and top 8 isn't good enough. One of the team's biggest strengths and weaknesses is in their mental momentum - if they secure an early lead in a series or bracket they tend to push the momentum to more wins. Lose hard early, and it becomes nearly impossible to see a comeback from behind. Head coach Kevin "Sporti" Vigil said that after being swept early into the CRL Western playoffs bracket, the team's mental state became difficult to recover even after picking up wins in the loser's bracket. Going into the spring split, they'll look to correct their mental issues and push for a top position in the collegiate scene alongside their newly added sub Frederick "R1val" Dehner.

HIGHLIGHT PLAYER: Ryan "YoojungHukiriLee" Pan

The League of Legends team has seen some shakeups this semester, with the team bringing on new players and playing with different roster setups throughout the semester. It's been a warm-up semester for the spring, and they'll be looking to gel together more and figure out how to play around players like jungler Ryan "YoojungHukiriLee" Pan and ADC Harold "Jraff" Bennet to pick up more wins once the official Riot Collegiate League of Legends season starts up. The introduction of the hextech and chemtech drakes in the preseason will be sure to shake up the meta again going into the new year, but it remains to be seen how it will affect collegiate play.