Michigan Tech Esports Spring Recap
HOUGHTON, Mich. – Michigan Tech Esports wrapped up its spring season earlier this month. The Huskies play Apex: Legends, Counter-Strike: Global Offensive, League of Legends, Overwatch 2, Rocket League, Super Smash Brothers: Ultimate, and Valorant. Tech took home the first GLIAC Esports Championship this spring alongside one NACE Conference Championship and four National Playoff appearances.
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It's a lot to keep track of, so here's the breakdown of Spring 2022 results by team.
Apex: Legends
Huskies Apex placed fifth overall in the Octane Collegiate Tournament, capping off a year of practice and development for the squad.
"The Apex team might not have brought back any trophies but still put up admirable and consistent results throughout this season and this year," Assistant Esports Director Chris Gelety said. "Octane Collegiate hosted 60 colleges from all over North America, so to place in the top 10 overall is a considerable accomplishment."
Counter-Strike: Global Offensive
Tech's CSGO team put up the consistent results of an undefeated regular season but was unable to make another run to follow up their 2021 National Championship. The Huskies fell to Rochester Institute of Technology in the round of 4, after taking down RIT's JV squad in the Conference Championship.
League of Legends
Huskies League of Legends upset tournament favorites Purdue Northwest to Win the GLIAC Esports Championship. Still struggling against the best teams on the continent, however, Tech did not go far in the cLoL tournament having to settle for a top 4 placement in the Teemo Cup. NACE is doomed, with Maryville blocking any hopes of a conference championship. Nonetheless, the Huskies persevered and still managed to qualify for the National Tournament. Tech placed top 8. For some fun, the squad ran it down to win both the Wayne State Winter Games and Michigan Bandwidth Bowl to round out the season.
Overwatch 2
Overwatch qualified for the Midwest Madness Tournament hosted by Eastern Michigan but due to weather was unable to defend their top placement. Not to be deterred, the Huskies found a seat at the Pilot Invitational down in South Bend, Indiana where they placed fourth. Coming up to Varsity Premier this season, Tech was unable to qualify for the postseason.
"Overwatch had a lot of challenges this season: a new game, a freshman roster, and rising a division," added Gelety. "I am proud of how far this team has come this year, and I am expecting to see the squad join the ranks of the rest of the national contenders soon."
Rocket League
The Michigan Tech Rocket League team fell to Grand Valley in the GLIAC Esports Championship to place second. However, Tech overcame GVSU to get to the Grand Finals of the Great Lakes Collegiate Rocket League Championship (GLCRL). The Huskies fell to St. Clair after a razor-close match. Tech won over St. Clair 4-1 in winners finals, lost to reset the bracket 4-3 then lost the reset 4-2 for a total record of 9-9. Along the way to that championship, the squad took first in the GLCRL Spring Split Minor tournament.
In NACE, the Varsity squad had an undefeated regular season but was upset by Lackawanna College in the Conference Championship. Undeterred, Tech swept through the last chance qualifier to make it to the round of 16 in the NACE Varsity National Playoffs.
The JV team had a 3-4 regular season in Varsity Plus and placed fourth in their conference tournament.
Super Smash Brothers: Ultimate
Tech's Smash squad dominated the GLIAC Esports Championship, coming in the clear favorite and delivering a comfortable first-place finish. Unable to overcome Shawnee State in the regular season and conference championship, Tech took down Davenport in the last-chance qualifier. In the national tournament, the Huskies defeated Full Sail in the round of 16 but fell to Stony Brook in the round of 8.
Valorant
Valorant did not qualify for the postseason in its appearance to NACE Varsity Premier. Tech's record was three wins and four losses. The Huskies did not qualify for the CECC event down in Texas, nor did they make it past phase one of Riot's cVal tournament in both winter and spring splits. The squad did break an even 3-3 record in the Wayne State Winter Games.
"Valorant is new here at Tech," said Gelety. "We waited to see how things would shake out with the new game and now we're playing catch up. I think we have a great group looking to put the work in to improve and rise to the challenge. But, I know this is where I need to focus my time to get the results we expect here at Michigan Tech Esports next season."