Valpo Esports Travels to Conference Tournament

On November 3rd and 4th Valpo Esports League of Legends and Super Smash Bros Ultimate team traveled to Game Arena in Columbus, Ohio to participate in the Great Lakes Esports Conference Playoffs.  

Each Semester the Great Lakes Esports Conference and its 24 member schools play throughout the regular season with the top 8 from each game qualifying for playoffs.  With the conference this past year nearly doubling in size Valpo was able to qualify all participating teams to the in-person playoff.

The League of Legends team going into the tournament was seeded 4th and finished the regular season with a record of 7-2.  Led by Senior Captain Justin Blanco the League of Legends team took on Tiffin University in the first round of play and fell 1-2 in a best-of-3 series.   The League of Legends team then took on Concordia University Ann-Arbor in the first round of the consolation bracket, they made quick work of CUAA and advanced to the 5th place match.  The League of Legends team will be facing Trine University who they defeated in the regular season 2-0 later this week for their 5th place match.

The Super Smash Bros Ultimate team also finished their regular season with a solid record of 7-2 and was seeded 5th going into the tournament.  The Smash team was not able to avenge its loss earlier in the season to Bethel University as they lost 0-2 in the first round.  The Smash team then fell to the consolation bracket and took on Ohio Northern University who they beat 2-1 advancing them to the 5th place match as well.  The smash team then lost 0-2 to a tough Cleveland State University who suffered a big upset in the first round.

Overall the trip to Game Arena in Columbus, Ohio was an invaluable experience for our players and program.  With both teams finishing with a respectable 5th/6th place.  With the Great Lakes Esports Conference done for the fall semester, both teams will shift their focus to the National Esports Championship Conference with the last week of the regular season this week and playoffs approaching.