OKLAHOMA CITY – After wrapping up NACE Starleague regular season competition last week, three of MACU's Esports teams will begin the Varsity Plus Playoffs with the Super Smash Bros. Red team, Rocket League and Overwatch squads qualifying to compete in postseason play.
Super Smash Bros.
The Super Smash Bros. Red team earned their spot in the NACE Starleague Varsity Plus East 6 Conference Tournament after locking up the No. 5 seed with a 3-4 league record and will battle the No. 4 seed Coffeyville CC (Kan.) on Thursday, Apr. 4 at 6 p.m.
The team consisting of captain Hope Walker, Cesar Stokes, Jackson Zamora, Elijah Bates and Tristin Barton, the Evangels battled back after dropping their first match of the season against Missouri State with three-straight victories against Highland CC (Kan.), Transylvania (Ky.) and Cottey (Kan.).
However, the Evangels will be looking to snap a three-game losing streak to close out the regular season with defeats to Ozarks Tech (Mo.) and Pittsburg State (Kan.) while being rematched against Coffeyville after falling to the Ravens in their regular season finale on Mar. 7.
Rocket League
Coming off winning the NACE Starleague Varsity Plus East 6 Regular Season and Playoff Championship this past fall, the Rocket League team finished second in the spring East 5 regular season standings with a 5-2 league record.
The squad consisting of Javier Cerrillo Soto (Cl0ver), Jadon Maxwell (Brainz), Luis Reyes (Sol) and Bostyn Carroll (Bmoney) overcame some early season adversity after being without one of its top players in Sol early in the season.
The Evangels suffered a 3-1 defeat to Lawrence Tech (Mich.) and a 3-2 loss to Keene State (N.H.) to start the spring campaign. After getting back to .500 with a 3-1 win over Purdue-Fort Wayne (Ind.) and a 3-0 victory over Neumann (Pa.) on Feb. 26, the Evangels got Sol, their captain from last season, back in the lineup.
With Sol back MACU's starting three, the Evangels put together a dominant run to close out the season, defeating Florida Tech 3-0 and the East 5 Regular Season Champs Kettering (Mich.) 3-1 before wrapping up the regular season with a 3-0 win over Mary Washington (Va.).
In earning the No. 2 seed in the playoffs, the Evangels received a bye in the Quarterfinal round and will look to avenge their early season loss to Lawrence Tech in the NACE Starleague Varsity Plus 5 Semifinal at 6 p.m. on Monday, Apr. 8.
Overwatch 2
The Overwatch 2 squad put together one of its best seasons in program history during the spring campaign as the Evangels went 6-1 and while finishing in a three-way tie at the top of the NACE Starleague Varsity Plus West-Central 2 standings, the Evangels were named the Regular Season Champions and earned the No. 1 seed in the Playoffs by owning the tiebreaker over West Texas A&M and Guam.
The squad consisting of captains Rushell Herrera (SpicyGhost) and Tristin Barton (Ponyboy1221) alongside James Orquiz (Exiledmex), Aaron Dodson (Immortal), Bobby Young (YoungZ), Hayden Linville (Golden) and Christian Martinez (FlyingXyzan) opened the season with a pair of wins by a score of 3-1 over Olivet Nazarene (Ill.) and a massive 3-0 victory over Guam before dropping a heartbreaking 3-2 defeat to West Texas A&M.
However, the Evangels came back even stronger from the defeat, winning three-straight matches with 3-0 wins to go along with a forfeit win over St. Francis (Ill.) as the MACU wrapped up the regular season with the title in its 3-0 victory over John Brown (Ark.) on Mar. 13.
After receiving a bye for the NACE Starleague West-Central 2 Playoffs, the Evangels will take on Kansas City in the Semifinal round at 7:30 p.m. on Tuesday, Apr. 9.
