Liberal, KS – Competition is heating up for the Saints Esports team as the season opens and matches begin.
The Super Smash Bros. team had their work cut out for them on Tuesday. Marcos Montoya (Gamertag: Randi Bobandi) had a tough time against his opponent, Gorgundorf, from North Arkansas College. Marcos got in some early hits, but it was all North Arkansas after that. “Dude’s gamertag is a Nintendo character. He’s got 700 hours into Smash. He’s cracked, bro,” Montoya said. Montoya lost his set 0 – 3. Michael Medina (Gamertag: Wingting777) didn’t fair much better against his opponent from Beaver County Community College. Medina fell in his set 0 – 3. A rebroadcast of Montoya’s match is available on the YouTube channel. https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCKAy9Zd8DmP1ASQ4VKtJ3Sg
The Call of Duty 4v4 showed great improvement Tuesday night. Aiden Rice (GT: Batman21078), Dwayne Moran (GT: Dwayne644), Landon Davis (GT: ToasterOnLegs), and John Epp (GT: GameTime), found themselves in a match up against Southwest Wisconsin Technical College. The teams were evenly matched in the beginning with SWTC barely squeaking out the win in the first round. The Saints answered back by taking a larger lead and winning the second round. Unfortunately, they couldn’t carry that momentum through the set and lost 1 – 3. Their next match will be on Tuesday, October 10th and will be streamed on YouTube.
In a strange twist of fate, Wednesday’s Madden ’24 match-up saw the Saints face off against themselves. Akele Powdrill (GT: I9am9inevitable) and Dwayne Moran (GT: Dwayne644) were forced into a match-up that guaranteed one win and one loss for the Saints. Moran took the early lead and went up 1 – 0 against Powdrill. Unphased, Powdrill buckled down and defeated his fellow teammate in the subsequent two sets to win the match 2 – 1. “It’s strange, but according to the NJCAAE, it happens,” Coach Volden said. “They shouldn’t have to face each other again this season unless they both make the playoffs.”
The Saints Overwatch 2 team came away with a commanding win Wednesday night against their foe from Spoon River College, IL. Julienne Salazar (GT: xojuelz), John Epp (GT: GameTime), Eileen Romo (GT: Gott-prinzessin), Blake Johnson (GT: Shoot2kill818), and Vanessa Ramirez-Molina (GT: Yunobsessed) started out hot and didn’t let up. The Overwatch squad had their opponents backed into base and off-balance all night. The combined match time for all three sets was just over 30 minutes. The Saints Overwatch team won 3 – 0.
The Valorant team showed up ready to play Thursday evening. They took on the team from Three Rivers College, MO and put on a dominating performance. Conner McElroy (GT: FrozenXSamurai), Marcos Montoya (GT: RandiBobandi), Ilia Ivanov (GT: Kavun41k), Julienne Salazar (GT: xojulez), and Michael Medina (GT: wingting777) started off their matches with an early lead and kept pouring on the pressure. They finished their sets 3 – 0 and are ready for their opponent Thursday, October 12th.
Technically difficulties marred the matches from the Rocket League team Friday night.
The Saints, Jesus Muniz (GT: MistofDeath63), Eileen Romo (GT: Gott-prinzessin), Akele Powdrill (GT: I9am9inevitable), and Fabian Tarango (GT: DizOrdinaryFT) faced off against The College of Dupage. Lag and disconnections kept the Saints from finding footing and allowed the group from Dupage to win 3 – 0.
“It’s hard when we have issues like that. It’s like trying to play basketball and someone keeps turning the lights off. It’s hard to get into a rhythm and hard to come together as a team,” Coach Volden said.
The Rainbow 6 squad had their work cut out for them as they faced last year’s tournament winners from State Fair Community College, MO. Aidan Rice (GT: Batman21078), Blake Johnson (GT: Shoot2kill818), Dwayne Moran (GT: Dwayne644), Eileen Romo (GT: Gott-Prinzessin), and Landon Davis (GT: ToasteronLegs) got down early and could never quite recover. SFCC took advantage and kept the Saints scoreless during the set. The Saints fell 0 – 3.
Next week is Fall break, but Esports matches resume Tuesday night with Super Smash Brothers and Call of Duty.
When matches are streamed, you can find them here: https://www.youtube.com/@sewardcountysaints1973/streams