Auburn, ME – The Mustangs Esports Valorant team defeated the #7 seed Saint Joseph's University Hawks 2-0 in the second round of the ECAC Division C playoffs. Central Maine, the #10 seed, moves on to the quarterfinals, as they look to defend their championship from last semester.
CMCC took map one 13-9 after falling behind in the early rounds. The Mustangs trailed 9-3 before the second half, completing the turnaround go up 1-0.
Map two was Central Maine's choice of Icebox, a big change from last semester when the team would auto-veto it. The Mustangs started on offense, which should have been a disadvantage on the notoriously defensive-minded map, but the team went up 7-1 in the first half forcing Saint Joseph's to use a timeout.
A 9-3 lead at halftime was a reverse from map one, but Mustangs Esports avoided a collapse by taking the first two rounds to increase the lead to 11-3 and close within two points of winning the match. The Hawks got the score to 12-5 before a nearly flawless round ended things.
"The win was a nice reminder of how good our Valorant team is, despite a somewhat average regular season," said Esports Coordinator Andrew Garza. "We're probably a better team than we are seeded, and I feel like this team is more than capable of making another run if we can upset John Brown University."
CMCC faces the #2 seeded Golden Eagles with a spot in the Division C semifinals on the line.
Meanwhile, the Call of Duty team is into the ECAC Division A semifinals already after knocking off the University at Buffalo 3-0. The match with the Bulls was rescheduled for Thursday to make room for the College COD League regional playoffs on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday.
The Mustangs took map one hardpoint 250-146, map two search and destroy 6-2, and map three control 3-0. They'll next face either #1 Texas A&M International University or #8 Fisher College Black (the Fisher third team), as that match was delayed. On the other side of the bracket, #2 Fisher College Varsity plays #3 Fisher College Navy (the Fisher second team) for a spot in the final.
In CCL Northeast regional playoff action, Mustangs Esports finished in the top 8 to move on to the national tournament bracket. Central Maine finished in sixth place after entering the double-elimination bracket as the #4 seed. In the first round, the squad took down #29 Pennsylvania Western University 3-0 before taking care of #13 Baldwin Wallace University by the same scoreline.
The #5 seeded Conestoga College Condors fell by the wayside 3-0 in winner's quarterfinals, setting up a matchup with #1 overall seed St. Clair College in winner's semifinals. Mustangs Esports took map one hardpoint 250-200, but lost the next three rounds to fall 3-1 and drop into the loser's side of the bracket. A second loss to #6 Fisher College's second team, 3-2, ended the team's run in sixth place. St. Clair ended up defeating both Fisher College's second team and varsity squad to claim the regional championship.
Central Maine plays in the CCL National Tournament on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday looking to make the top four. The final four teams will play a LAN event for the national championship.
