This is the first week of Playoffs for our Clark Esports teams as they and their opponents look to eliminate the other in the NECC Quarterfinals! Let’s break down all of it and see who advanced!
League of Legends
Red: After an up-and-down regular season, League of Legends Red seem to have found their form in the playoffs, pulling off a major first-round upset against the SNHU Penmen. The second-seeded Penmen were no match for Clark, as they were quicker to adapt to the fresh preseason patch that shook up the game. If you’re interested in all the action, you can find the full replay here.
Clark will now advance to play the third-seeded York Spartans in the semifinals. York got the best of Clark in week 7 of the regular split, but both games were relatively close, giving the cougars another opportunity to pull off the upset and make the finals of their division.
Grey: League Grey faced an uphill battle in their first-round matchup against crosstown rival and first-seed Assumption. Ultimately, Assumption avoided the upset, winning back-to-back games. Still, a playoff run for Grey is a successful season, as they’ll look to advance further next semester.
Chromatic: After defeating Ralph-Macon college in a reverse sweep during the regular season, Chromatic looked to repeat history in the first round of the playoffs. Unfortunately, this time R-MC came more prepared, winning a pivotal game three to move onto the second round. Nonetheless, a 6-2 regular season is a great building block for Chromatic’s future success.
Obsidian: League Obsidian slotted into the fourth-seed of the Navigators Northeast division after eight weeks of play, set to face off against fifth-seeded SUNY Potsdam. The team began the series with a dominating victory off the back of Liam ‘Chicken of War’ Wang’s multiple Syndra solo kills against the enemy Viktor. After a back-and-forth game two, Liam ‘tranquilDestiny’ Quinn’s drake steal on Hecarim brought the momentum back in Clark’s favor, closing out the 2-0 sweep.
The team will now look to take down top-seeded Ithaca College Blue. The two teams did not meet in the regular season.
Pearl: League Pearl ended up against the aforementioned Ithaca in their first-round playoff matchup, losing in two games. Obsidian will look to get revenge for their fallen sister team.
Overwatch 2
Red: Overwatch Red had to reschedule their playoff match to this Monday. They’ll look to take down fifth-seeded Newberry to meet top-seed St. Clair Academy in the semifinals.
Grey: Overwatch Grey came back from down 1-2 in the series to defeat first-round foe uOttawa Grey in five maps. They’ll advance to the semifinals against top-seeded RPI B, a team that only dropped one match all semester. The two squads met back in week four, where RPI came away victorious in 3-0 fashion. Grey will look to use their newfound momentum to pull off the upset.
Obsidian: After claiming the top spot in the Navigators East division, Obsidian held up to their reputation, defeating friends over at Clark Chromatic in three straight maps. Up next is difficult opponent Rio Grande, the only team to take down Obsidian this year. They’ll look to get revenge for ruining their perfect season and move to the finals against either Catawba Blue or Midway.
Chromatic: Chromatic fell defeat to Obsidian in their first-round match, ending their semester. They’ll look to come back and advance further in the playoff bracket come the Spring.
Rocket League
Red: Rocket League Red’s playoffs will begin after Thanksgiving break. Stay tuned for an update on that!
Grey: Grey, on the other hand, began their playoff run against the MCCC Mustangs, losing in three straight games. A playoff appearance caps off a successful season for the Rocket League Grey squad.
Valorant
Grey: Valorant Grey, undefeated on the season, continued their success into the playoffs, defeating OWU Crimson 2-0 (13-8, 13-5). They await the winner of Montclair State Black and uOttawa Red, two teams they have previously beaten. Grey looks to be on a collision course with the Lambton Lions, the two undefeated teams from the Navigators Northeast division.
Chromatic: Valorant Chromatic pulled off an improbable comeback against Coe College Gold, coming away victorious in three maps (13-7, 8-13, 17-15). Coe College held a huge advantage on the third and final map despite being the sixth seed to Clark’s third, going into round 14 with a 10-3 lead. Chromatic stormed back, eventually forcing overtime, then another, and another, finally closing the deal on the fourth extra period.
The team will now square off against second-seeded MSOE Raiders JV, a team that defeated Chromatic 2-0 in week five. Despite the previous loss, the team will look to carry their insane momentum into a potential finals appearance.
Rainbow Six
Red: Clark’s Rainbow Six squad began their playoff run with a nail-biting victory over SIUE Black. The teams faced off in back-to-back weeks, first during the last week of the regular season, in which Clark swept quite comfortably. This time was different, as SIUE won a close first map 7-5, bringing Clark to the brink of elimination. After a dominating second map in the cougars’ favor (7-1), everything came down to the third and deciding map, Kafe.
A 6-2 lead gave Clark four match points in a row, but SIUE Black wouldn’t go away easily, winning the next three points until Clark finally secured the victory 7-5. The boys will now meet the Buena Vista Beavers, the only team to take down Clark in the regular season back in week two. If you want to see the exciting action from the team’s quarterfinal match, here’s the replay!
That’s all the playoff action that occurred this week!
As a reminder, no team will play their semifinal matches this upcoming week with the Thanksgiving break looming. The next action will begin the week of the 28th, starting with Valorant on Monday!
Have a great Thanksgiving!
-Andrew ‘Pizza The Cat’ Diiorio