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MARSHALL — The SMSU E-Sports team wrapped up a successful fall season, competing in four different games with Valorant, Rocket League, and Fifa all seeing great success.
The season kicked off on Sept. 28 with League of Legends. With four new players on a roster that featured Nicholas Kemppainen, Ellie Anselment, Brandon Bentley, Joshua Chavez, Mark Ezenezi, Alex Forseman, and Martin Kochis, the squad showed great improvement from their 1-6 record last winter. This fall’s team finished 2-4. After beginning the season attempting new strategies to find their identity, the team won their final two matches to create a confidence moving into next season.
The Valorant league saw the program split into two teams, the A and B teams. The B team, with Erick Leach, Noah Louwagie, Joshua Chavez, Salvador Cid and Alex Forseman, finished the regular season 1-4, taking fourth place in their group. The team had three new players this season, and competed hard in every match. Their season ended at the hands of Minnesota State in the tournament.
Valorant A shined, as Jackson Vierstraete, Kennedy Kucera, Brandon Lyons, Jared Wallin and Zander Wysong would go 4-1 in the regular season, finishing second in their pool. The group showed great improvements from last season, with each player showing at least 25 percent improvement from last season according to coach Spencer Louwagie. The season ended in-style, as the Mustangs won the postseason tournament, defeating rival Minnesota State 2-0 after a pair of electric comebacks, winning both games 13-11.
Rocket League dropped their first two matches of the season, but as the going got tough, captain Mitchell Baker-Magrath, Gavin Rohner, and Sean Sauve picked their games up, closing the season with four consecutive victories en route to a 4-2 finish. After a 0-6 inaugural season, the Rocket League squad outperformed expectations, including a reverse sweep in the season finale against the University of Minnesota and a sweep against the University of Wisconsin.
Thomas Adegbite and Raphael Musenga each participated in a pair of FIFA tournaments this season, with Musenga earning a first-place finish and second-place finish, while Adegbite placed third and fifth. Each player earned prize money for their performances.
“Despite only being into our second year as a sport here at SMSU, Esports is proud to have achieved many top placings within its competition.” Said coach Louwagie. “Esports has finished #1 and #2 in Fifa this semester, taking #1 overall as well as Valorant taking #1 overall in their competition. I am constantly impressed with the dedication these players have shown to their craft and look forward to more success next semester.”
All Esports coverage in the winter can be found on their twitch page, including replays of each match. The 2021-22 season is the second season in program history, with Head Coach Spencer Louwagie in his second season leading the charge.
— Content courtesy
of SMSU Athletic
Communications
