Seward County Esports Week Two Recap

Liberal, KS – Competition is heating up for the Saints Esports team as the season opens and matches begin. 

On Tuesday, two members of the Super Smash Bros. team played their opening matches.  Marcos Montoya (Gamertag: Randi Bobandi) won his set 3 – 0 against the opponent from Iowa Central Community College.  Michael Medina (Gamertag: Wingting777) also won his set 3-0 against the player from the Community College of Beaver County, PA.  Smash Brothers competitions are at 5:30pm on Tuesday evenings.  Unfortunately, matches are not able to be broadcast at this time but will become available later in the season. 

Also on Tuesday, the Call of Duty 4v4 team took the stage at 6:30pm. Aiden Rice (GT: Batman21078), Blake Johnson (GT: Shoot2kill818), Landon Davis (GT: ToasterOnLegs), and John Epp (GT: GameTime), faced off against a tough opponent from Dutchess Community College, NY. The Saints squad got off to a rocky start with DCC took advantage of. It was an uphill battle for the rest of the match.  Coach Volden said about the game, “My guys played great as individuals, but we’re still figuring out how to work as a team.  We’ve looked at different strategies and are confident we’ll put up some wins soon.  For now, we have some work to do.”  Call of Duty 4v4 matches are played on Tuesdays at 6:30pm and are streamed when available. 

Wednesday saw the return of Madden ’24. Akele Powdrill (GT: I9am9inevitable) matched up against a player from North Dakota State College of Science. Despite his best efforts, Powdrill was unable to push ahead and fell in his matches 0 – 2.  Dwayne Moran (GT: Dwayne644) was up against the #4 seed in the league from Dallas College Cedar Valley. Unfortunately, Dwayne was unable to squeak out a win against the tough opponent and ended up losing his set 0 – 2. Madden ’24 matches are on Wednesdays at 5:30pm. 

Wednesday also saw the debut of the Saints Overwatch 2 team.  Julienne Salazar (GT: xojuelz), Caden McCain (GT: SIRPIXEL0T), Eileen Romo (GT: Gott-prinzessin), John Epp (GT: GameTime), Blake Johnson (GT: Shoot2kill818), and Vanessa Ramirez-Molina (GT: Yunobsessed) faced off versus North Iowa Area Community College. They were unable to come up with a win during the first two sets but managed to tie in the 3rd round.  NIACC pushed back in the 4th set to come up with the win.  The Overwatch 2 team fell 0 – 3 – 1 on the night.  Overwatch games are played Wednesday nights, also at 5:30pm. 

It was a tough night for the Valorant team Thursday evening.  Conner McElroy (GT: FrozenXSamurai), Marcos Montoya (GT: RandiBobandi), Ilia Ivanov (GT: Kavun41k), Julienne Salazar (GT: xojulez), and Michael Medina (GT: wingting777) squared off against Montgomery County Community College, PA in a best of three set. The group from MCCC came out swinging hard and the Saints squad was unable to regain their balance. MCCC swept the saints 0 – 2. Valorant matches are played Thursday nights at 6:30pm and are streamed when available.  

The Rocket League team got off to a hot start Friday night.  The team, consisting of Jesus Muniz (GT: MistofDeath63), Eileen Romo (GT: Gott-prinzessin), Akele Powdrill (GT: I9am9inevitable), and Fabian Tarango (GT: DizOrdinaryFT) went up against the group from Northeast Alabama Community College. The Saints squad found themselves down by 2 goals in the first match, but quickly rallied and turned the rest of the contest into a route. They picked up their first win in their sets 3 – 0. Rocket League games are played on Friday nights at 5:30pm 

Also on Friday night, the Rainbow 6 squad took the stage in their first ever match up against Trinidad State College. The team, consisting of Aidan Rice (GT: Batman21078), Blake Johnson (GT: Shoot2kill818), Dwayne Moran (GT: Dwayne644), Eileen Romo (GT: Gott-Prinzessin), and Landon Davis (GT: ToasteronLegs) had a tough fight ahead of them.  They got down early in their sets but could never fully recover. They ended up falling 0 – 2 on the night against TSC. Rainbow 6 Siege games are played Friday nights at 6:30pm. 

“I’m pretty happy with our first real week of competition.  We always knew there would be a learning curve. We’re figuring out how to navigate the matches, set up the stream, and compete in our league.  That’s all I can really ask of my people right now.  I’m proud of the way they’ve handled themselves,” Coach Volden said.  

When matches are streamed, you can find them here:
https://www.youtube.com/@sewardcountysaints1973/streams