The Mid-South Conference esports season has come to a close, with SSU claiming championships in both Super Smash Bros. Ultimate and Rocket League. Here's a recap of the Bears' exciting wins.
Super Smash Bros. vs. Campbellsville University 2 – 0 W
The Bears claimed a clean semifinal sweep on February 14. Benjamin Moushey (gamertag: Waywardness) led the charge with his Zelda expertise, earning four stocks to kick off the match. He was followed by Mark Schueler (gamertag: Atlas) whose Pac Man play earned two stocks before being eliminated. Filling the anchor role was Christopher Mowery (gamertag: SpaceMiner) on Toon Link. He claimed the final three stocks to take game one 2 – 0.
Game two was led by Moushey's Zelda once more. He claimed five stocks before being eliminated. Following him was teammate Desmond Craft (gamertag: EchoForce) whose Joker took the remaining four stocks from the Tigers, earning a 5 – 0 win and the Bears' ticket to the finals.
Super Smash Bros. vs. Keiser University 2 – 1 W
The Bears gave an exciting showing in this February 14 grand finals. Game one was led by Schueler, who claimed five stocks from the Seahawks on his signature Pac Man. Mowery came in to clean up the remainder, dropping only two stocks while earning the final four.
Game two was a much closer call for the unit. Schueler once again led the charge, taking only two stocks as he lost his three. Craft entered second, claiming only one stock before falling. With the Bears at a massive deficit, Mowery's Toon Link anchored and nearly had the comeback. He was unable to complete the comeback and the squad fell 0 – 1.
The Bears didn't let the loss stop them. Schueler led the play one final time, taking another five stocks for the road—totaling an exciting fourteen for the whole night—before handing things off to Mowery. The freshman cleared out an astounding four stocks while only losing one, ending the match with a 5 – 0 win and claiming the Mid-South Championship.
Super Smash Bros. faces Ashland in their senior night game on March 16, beginning at 7:00 PM.
Rocket League vs. Campbellsville University 3 – 0 W
The squad earned an easy sweep in this February 15 semifinal match. Game one was a clean 3 – 0 win for the Bears, with Zach Ellis (gamertag: FireRaptor) earning two goals. The third goal was scored by PJ Fiscus (gamertag: Fisci25). Fiscus and Dyllan DeBruyne (gamertag: DuckWorth) both earned one assist each. Game two was a 2 – 1 win where the Tigers kept the score tied for nearly a minute of play after DeBruyne claimed the first point of the game. Luckily for the squad, Fiscus nabbed the game-winning second goal for the Bears.
Game three was an exciting 3 – 2 win for the unit. After a 15-second goal from the Tigers set them behind, the squad quickly answered with their own goal less than 15 seconds later. After the Bears took the lead, Campbellsville kept the score neck-and-neck. The squad broke the tie a second time to claim the win. All three goals were scored by Ellis in this last semifinal game, with DeBruyne assisting in two of them.
Rocket League vs. Shawnee State JV 3 – 1 W
Shawnee State held both the champion and runner-up positions for MSC Rocket League no matter who won this all-Bears final match. Game one was a 2 – 0 win for the Varsity squad, thanks to two goals from DeBruyne. Ellis got the assist on the second goal of the match and claimed two saves. Game two was a 2 – 3 loss to the JV unit, who refused to concede the lead during the second game. Richard Randolph (gamertag: Rickdiculous), Kyler Taylor (gamertag: Doc.) and Jarod Grady (gamertag: lilStuart) each scored one goal to claim their win. DeBruyne and Ellis each scored one goal for the varsity squad, with DeBruyne earning an assist.
With the match tied up, the Varsity squad looked to earn the lead in game three. With a 2 – 0 win, they were able to regain control of the match. DeBruyne scored both goals in this game, one of which was thanks to an assist from Fiscus. The final game of the MSC season was an exciting 2 – 1 win for Varsity. Fiscus earned the first goal, assisted by DeBruyne, which was answered by a JV goal from Taylor. After entering overtime, Ellis scored the championship-winning goal and sealed the match.
Varsity Rocket League faces King University on March 20 for the NACE conference play-in, beginning at 7:00.
Full schedule information can be found at www.ssubears.com/schedule/0/22.php. To watch the SSU Esports teams in action, visit www.twitch.tv/team/shawneestateuniversity.
For more information on SSU Bears Athletics, visit www.ssubears.com or visit the Twitter and Facebook pages at www.twitter.com/SSUBears and www.facebook.com/SSUBears. For more information on how to join the SSU Bear Club or for sponsorship of specific SSU players or events, visit www.givetossu.com/bear-club and www.givetossu.com/sponsorthebears.
