Saints Esports Fall '24 Post-season Play
LIBERAL, Kan. – The Fall '24 season for Saints Esports has wrapped up. It was a successful sophomore season and kudos to Priscilla Davis, who finished national runner up in Mario Kart. The first two weeks of December, the Saints had 11 teams with 15 participants compete in the NJCAAE T3 Open Series National Tournament.
Madden NFL:
Dwayne Moran was against Trinidad State College during the first round of playoffs and had a difficult time stopping the TSC player's passing game, giving up big yardage plays. Moran fell on the night 0 - 2. Moran graduated this Fall semester and will not return for the esports team in the spring. Coach Volden said, "We're going to miss Dwayne. He's been a good leader and a great player for us while he's been here. He's great at Madden and one of the anchors on our Rainbow 6 team. We wish him the best of luck in the future."
Akele Powdrill took on Eastern Georgia State College during his first round but fell to the EGSC player 1 – 2.
Landon Davis was against Iowa Western Community College. He put his opponent down handily, winning 2 – 0 to advance to the next round. Landon Davis was against an undefeated opponent from Western Technical College for his next set. The WTC player won the first game. During the second, a costly late fumble for the Saints turned the tide in a very close game. Davis fell on the night 0 - 2. In his last set, Davis squared up against Eastern Georgia State College. Davis had an uphill battle all evening and couldn't get past EGSC's stifling defense. He ended up losing on the night 0 - 2. Davis finished the season ranked 4th in the national tournament.
Valorant:
The Saints Valorant team (Julienne Salazar, Marcos Montoya, Izrel Velasquez, Daniel Nguyen, and Ernest Paloma) also had a rough night during their first round against SUNY Jamestown. The SUNY crew got up early and the Saints crew were on the back foot all night, struggling to keep up. They lost 0 – 2.
Super Smash Brothers Ultimate:
Alexis Saustegui fought against SW Wisconsin Tech in the first matchup of the playoffs. Saustegui won, advancing to the next round. Unfortunately, he didn't fare as well against the second opponent from SUNY Jefferson. He lost 1 – 4.
Fortnite:
Henry Perez and Osiel Ventura had a similarly tough time against Northwest Tech. They won the first match handily, but the NWT came on hot the rest of the evening, ending their post-season hopes with a score of 1 - 3. Perez and Ventura will regroup after holiday break and make another run for a title in the spring.
The second group of Luis Ortiz and Juan Pablo Chacon went into the playoffs undefeated. They received a first-round bye before taking on Connors State College during the second round. They easily swept their first set, placing them in the top 8 in the national tournament. Ortiz and Chacon went the full distance against Herkimer College in their second round, trading wins back and forth. In the end, the Herkimer crew scored more points in the last round, causing the Saints loss of 2 - 3. Finally, Ortiz and Chacon battled against Northwestern College for 3rd place. The duo started out hot, winning the first two sets. NWC came on during the third and put up a good showing, but the Saints fought back and won the match 3 – 1. Ortiz and Chacon placed 3rd in the national tournament for the fall.
Mario Kart:
The Saints had 4 players qualify for playoffs in the fall semester. During the first round, some of the Mario Kart players had a tough night. Edward Rios fell to his opponent from Bates Technical College 1 - 4. Landon Davis lost his race to Marshalltown 2 - 4. Alexis Saustegui's set came down to the wire, but he couldn't come out on top of Rose State College, losing 3 - 4.
Priscilla Davis remained hot, beating North Arkansas 4 - 0 in the first round. Second round, she took on Ellsworth Community College and won that set 4 - 0. In the final round of the evening, she beat Luzerne County 4 - 1. During the second day of the Mario Kart tournament, Davis raced against Iowa Western Community College. It was a hard fight, but Davis won 4 - 2. Her next opponent in the final 4 was from Marshalltown College. Davis and the Marshalltown player traded wins down to the wire, with Davis finally coming up the victor with a score of 4 – 3. Davis then entered into the national finals against Danville Area Community College. In another high skill battle, the game went back and forth. Unfortunately, a timely red shell secured the win for the player from DACC. Davis lost on the night 2 – 4, but secured her spot in the #2 position as the national runner-up for the Fall tournament.
Spring '25 starts with pre-season games beginning January 27 with the regular season starting February 23. Post-season for Spring '25 starts April 13.