Esports Teams Compete in Playoffs

LA CROSSE, Wis. – The Viterbo University Esports Valorant and Overwatch team both competed in playoff matches this week, reaching postseason play in their first semesters of competitive play.

Overwatch took on Keiser University-Jacksonville (Fla.), with the first match being Control on Lijang Tower. Garrett Eick (Gee) led all players with 40 eliminations, while David Ryckman (CptRipz) added 33, but the V-Hawks would lose the first round to the Seahawks. The second round would be Hybrid, played on King's Row, and the V-Hawks captured on overtime win, but Escort on Route 66 would be a win for Keiser, despite Alex Boardman (Bcd) recording 24 assists and healing nearly 12,000 points. Eick would post another 25 eliminations for Viterbo. Keiser secured the victory with a dominant win in Push on Colosseo to advance to the Round of Four in the playoffs.

The Valorant team saw a Round of Six matchup with Bushnell University (Ore.), a rematch of the first official match in the program's history in which Viterbo won 2-1. In the first match, Viterbo would take a 4-3 lead, but the teams would trade leads, as Bushnell went up 5-6,, then Viterbo up 8-6. The V-Hawk lead would grow to as much as 11-6 before the Beacons stormed back for a 12-13 win. Draven Williamson (Dravendubz) had the second highest combat score in the match with 31 kills and a single plant and diffuse. Mikey Voge (HoneyInspector) had a match-high eight plants to go with 19 kills. The second game saw Bushnell jump out to the large lead, first 2-7, then by as much as 4-10. But the V-Hawks battled back, led by Justin Kratzenstein's (Solomon) 24 kills and Brenden McDonald's (SigmaMale) 18 kills and three diffuses, closing the game to 10-12. However, BU took the match point round, and claimed victory to move on to the Round of Four.