Auburn, ME – The Mustangs Esports Super Smash Bros Ultimate team saw their spring season come to a close after a 2-0 defeat to Five Towns College in the first round of the ECAC Division B playoffs. The Mustangs lost a tight first round 12-11 before the Sound closed things out 12-9 in round two.
Round one saw the CMCC go up 9-7 before a strong finish by Five Towns final player, using Dr. Mario, evened things up. That set up a winner-takes-all, three-stock showdown with Jacob "Mr. Fun and Games" Knight using King K. Rool. Dr. Mario again came out on top to secure the win.
It was a similar story in round two, this time with the Sound using Toon Link and Jacob "Mr. Fun and Games" switching to Duck Hunt. The Sound entered with a 10-9 lead, and despite the Mustangs taking an early advantage in damage dealt, secured the match with two straight KOs.
The team of Jayden "Inari" Feliberty, Richard "OneStock" Johnson, Jade "Polestar" Fortenbacker, Garrett "Orkiwan" Davis, and Jacob "Mr. Fun and Games" Knight finished the season with a 5-3 overall record. The squad will see some changes before next semester with Jacob and Jayden both graduating, and Jacob moving to Syracuse to continue his collegiate career.
"We will miss Jayden and Jacob on the SSBU team next year," said Esports Coordinator Andrew Garza. "Especially Jayden who has played a pivotal role for Mustangs Esports, as he has been here longer than I have been running the teams. He helped me get acquainted with the program and has been a good role model for the rest of the players."
Mustangs Esports SSBU does get one more go-round with their current group. The team will participate at the Maine Esports Collegiate Association (MECA) LAN event hosted at Thomas College on April 26th.
View the match here: youtube.com/watch?v=gOYNMQYLZ4w
That leaves the program with two squads still in the hunt for a trophy. After a first-round bye, Valorant opens its title defense of ECAC Division C by taking on Saint Joseph's University.
Call of Duty also is on to the second round in the ECAC Division A playoffs. The COD team defeated Keiser University Lakeland 3-0 in the first round last week, taking the match 250-85 in hardpoint, 6-3 in search and destroy, and 3-0 in control. They next face the University of Buffalo in the quarterfinals.
The group of Caden "Asylum" Bedney, Ethan "EthanCOD" Deneau, Idelmaro "Delo" Andrade, Ihzayah "Zay" Marcellus are also still active in the College COD League postseason. Mustangs Esports remains one of the top-ranked teams in the country heading into CCL Northeast Regional Playoffs.
Central Maine finished the regular season as the #2 seed in the Northeast Atlantic division to secure a top 4 seed at regionals – with the top 8 moving on to the 32-team double elimination bracket. They play this week on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday.
The COD squad is coming off a loss in the CCL Conference Championship last Wednesday, going down 4-0 to the #1 ranked team in the country, Fisher College. The slump could possibly be attributed to a small bout of the "LAN flu" following all four players competing at the Optic Texas Major 2 event in Dallas last weekend.
