Minneapolis, MN -- North Central University (NCU) Super Smash bounced back this week with a 2-0 victory over Mankato State University on Thursday. Senior captain Phillip "wtrPHILter" Graham sparked two comeback wins in that match to give Super Smash their third win of the year. NCU Fortnite showed major improvements in the Playfly Split 2 Open 2, with all three duos currently holding placement to qualify for the Split 2 Finals. 

Super Smash vs Mankato State University (2-0 Victory)

Game 1: NCU - 12   MSU - 10   |   Game 2: NCU - 12   MSU - 11

• NCU opened with Benjamin "BTGing" Piasecki on his trusty Snake. Taking on a Byleth at Town, Piasecki quickly gained a lead that we escalated after an SD by the Byleth. After they managed to even the stocks, the Byleth fell to Piasecki's Nikita.
• The Mavericks countered with a Game and Watch (G&W), who took the Rams to the stage Small Battlefield. Piasecki took the first stock, but not before reaching high percent. He swiftly closed out a second with an early spike before going down, taking five total.
• Asher "bluewaras" Winter went out next for NCU, using his Joker against their G&W on Small Batt. After some maneuvering put Winter in the lead, the G&W managed to bring back a stock before going down to a counter.
• MSU attempted to counter with a Kazuya. Taking Winter on at Hollow Bastion, he managed to take two stocks before falling.
• Todd "lucid" Holloway II came out next for NCU. Dueling their Kazuya on Hollow Bastian, the Maverick's Mishima managed to take down the Ram's Samus, but not before being brought up to high percent.
• Phillip "wtrPHILter" Graham came out to anchor on His Rob. Facing down Maverick's Menace, the game ended quickly after an SD. Graham pressed on, looking to end the game against King Dedede on Small Battlefield. NCU's team captain took the first stock and then a second before losing his first. After some clean neutral wins, Graham closed out the game with two stocks remaining to take a 1-0 lead.

 

• Rydon "RjFx4" Foldhazi opened for NCU in game two with his classic Megaman. Facing off against a Ridley on PS2, Foldhazi fought hard. Playing with a lead, he lost his second stock before closing the game.
• Mankato countered with their G&W, who took Foldhazi to Small Battlefield. The two fought a close first stock, but NCU managed to take it first before going down to a missed tech.
• Winter came out next for NCU. Taking on the two-dimensional fighter once again at Small Batt, he lost out on his first stock and took one before eventually going down.
• Piasecki came back out for North Central, looking to regain the lead. Facing off on PS2, our Snake traded stocks with their G&W, closing the gap down to one.
• The Mavericks sent out their King Dedede next. Fighting on Small Batt, the penguin managed to take a quick stock with a ledge trap. Piasecki took one of his own before going down.
• Graham came out last to Anchor for NCU. Our captain dueled their Dedede on Town, managing to get the first stock in an even game. He then took that lead to end out the game with two stocks. The Mavericks anchored with a Kazuya who took Graham to Town. The Kazuya took our Rob's first stock early, but he quickly returned the favor with a spike. A hard tech read into down smash evened out the game, and after falling behind, Graham quickly took back the game with a string into a spike to seal the Rams' victory.

Super Smash JV vs St Cloud State University (0-2 Defeat)

Game 1: NCU - 2    SCSU - 12   |   Game 2: NCU - 2   SCSU - 12

While Varsity found victory against Mankato State, JV's season struggles continued. Despite gaining an early lead from Josiah "Toxic Yeti" Bridger's Little Mac play, SCSU would adjust quickly and the other three members of NCU would be unsuccessful in taking the first member's final stock. Game 2 would see NCU try to force a win. The rushed play would easily be responded to ending another match for the Rams.

Fortnite - Playfly Split 2 Open 2

Saturday, 3 duos from North Central University competed in the second open for Split 2 of Playfly College Esports Fortnite Circuity. With a difficult first open, the Rams had ground to cover to earn enough circuit points to qualify for the Split 2 Final. Duo Christian "WAYCOOL12" Berry and Christian "BD_cwwolves" Walker tied the season points record with 32 placement points and 5 eliminations, improving their Split ranking from 47^th to 35^th overall. Meanwhile, freshmen duos Micah Eckhart/Josh Brown and Isiah "IsiahM007" Mattingly/Landen Maas earned 29 and 28 points, respectively. Currently, all three duos are within the top 48, the placement needed to qualify for the final, but have one more open to lock in their place for the final. 

Upcoming Schedule:

Thursday 10/31
    Super Smash vs Truman State University @ 6:00 PM
    JV Super Smash vs Ozarks Technical Community College @ 6:00 PM
Saturday 11/2
    Fortnite at Playfly Split 2 Open 3 @ 2:00 PM

All fans are encouraged to tune into the official Rams Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter (X) pages for updates on esports and all things NCU Athletics.