Eagle Esports Teams Fare Well in Postseason Competition

Mon, 01/10/2022 - 08:39am | By: Van Arnold

As evidenced by performances in recent postseason tournament competition, the Eagle Esports program at The University of Southern Mississippi (USM) has come an impressively long way in a short period of time.

Four teams in the USM program advanced to postseason play, with Team Overwatch capturing the tournament title to become fall National Esports Collegiate Conference (NECC) Challenger Division grand champions.

Team Rainbow 6 won its regular season (Emergents Division) competition and finished runner-up in post season tournament play. Team League of Legends finished tied for 3rd in their post-season tournament, while Team Rocket League captured their regular season and advanced to postseason competition. Between 30-35 students comprised the four USM teams. Dr. Denny Bubrig, Assistant Vice President for Student Affairs at USM and Eagle Esports coordinator, applauds the remarkable progress teams made from spring 2021 through the recent tournament action.

“We are thrilled to have had the progress we made in the fall and bringing home our first championship,” said Bubrig. “To go from two teams simply qualifying for the playoffs in the spring semester, to four advancing to tournament competition, including a grand champion, it was a great way to end the fall.”

Esports describes the world of competitive, organized video gaming. Competitors from different leagues or teams face off in the same games that are popular with at-home gamers: Fortnite, League of Legends, Counter-Strike, Call of Duty, Overwatch and Madden NFL, to name a few.

USM launched its esports program in 2020. Bubrig acknowledges the rapid growth, while noting higher expectations going forward.

“We are excited with how far we have come, but also recognize that we still have a lot of work to do. Our goal is to continue building on our competitive credibility while enhancing our broadcasting, academic/research, and community engagement components as well,” he said.

The NECC features approximately 80 schools, including the University of Alabama, Boise State University, Sacramento University, Mount St. Mary’s University, University of Montana, Valparaiso, Randolph-Macon, Colorado College and Illinois Wesleyan, among others. To learn more about Eagle Esports, email esports@usm.edu; visit: https://www.usm.edu/esports/index.php; or follow on social media via Twitch, Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.