Minneapolis, MN -- North Central University (NCU) esports was back in action this past week! NCU Super Smash competed against St. Cloud State University on Thursday where after a back-and-forth battle, the Rams would fall 2-0 to the Huskies. JV Super Smash would be forced to forfeit their first match of the season due to scheduling conflicts. NCU Fortnite competed in their second Split 1 Open of the season as Andre "blvyze" Muteba and Garrett "g-dogcon" Converse led NCU Gold to an 11th-place lobby finish and added 24 points for the Rams. 

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

Game 1: NCU - 8   SCSU - 12   |   Game 2: NCU - 5   SCSU - 12

• Benjamin "BTGing" Piasecki opened the match on Snake, as he fought against a K-Rool on small Batt. In back-and-forth gameplay, the two traded their first stocks, but Ben would lose out after a close second stock.
• Phillip "wtrPHILter" Graham came in next on his trusty ROB. Taking the Crocodile to Kalos where they traded their first stocks, Graham managed to take the game with two stocks remaining.
• SCSU countered with a Wario. The two fought on PS2 and NCU's team captain took two stocks before going down.
• NCU returner Todd "lucid" Holloway II came out next with his classic Samus. Taking the Wario to PS2, Holloway II cleaned up the Wario, but not before losing one of his own stocks.
• Attempting to take Holloway II out with a Little Mac on Small Batt, SCSU closed out the game without dropping a stock.
• Rydon "RjFx4" Foldhazi went out next for NCU, taking their Little Mac to Hollow Bastian. After a poor first stock, Foldhazi almost brought it back but ultimately lost after taking two stocks.

 

• The Rams opened this match with Asher "bluewaras" Winter showing off a new character, his freshly unbanned Steve. Dueling with a Link on Small Batt, they played a close first stock, but the Link eventually won with two remaining stocks.
• NCU sent out Piasecki next on his Snake, who showed off the Snake blender on Battlefield. He took out the Link's remaining stocks while only dropping one of his own.
• SCSU attempted to counter with their Wario. Fighting on Battlefield, Piasecki managed to set up his blender once again, taking a clean first stock but ultimately falling.
• North Central sent out Holloway II next on his Samus. Fighting on PS2, Samus couldn't quite keep up with the rush-down play. He eventually lost out to the Wario, who finished the game with a waft combo.
• Graham came out to anchor for NCU. Taking his ROB to Town, he went hit for hit, but couldn't quite clean up the game. The Wario won with one stock remaining.

Fortnite - Playfly Split 1 Open 2

This week, NCU showed great improvement with both NCU Blue and White making big moves in points. This week also saw the return of program veterans Andre "blvyze" Muteba and Garrett "g-dogcon" Converse competing as team NCU Gold. NCU White's biggest improvement was their longevity, earning more than quadruple the placement points they did from the first open. NCU Blue would change their strategy choosing to play more into dead zones of drops. Their conservative play would see them place 9^th and 10^th in the first two matches of the day despite only earning one elimination. Competing in their first match of the season, NCU Gold focused on playing into rotating teams. Muteba would bring 3 eliminations and the duo placed 7^th in the first match, earning 11 additional points. NCU Gold would bring home the most points out of any NCU team this season racking up 24 points on the day. There is one final open qualifier for Split 1 with the three NCU duos needing to place in the top 48 to qualify for the Split 1 Championship. 

After the second qualifier, the standings are as follows:

NCU Blue: 17th out of 41 teams in lobby | Overall: 50/81
NCU White: 24th out of 40 teams in lobby | Overall: 52/81
NCU Gold: 11th out of 40 teams in lobby | Overall: 42/81


Upcoming Schedule:

Thursday 10/3
    Super Smash vs University of Central Missouri @ 6:00 PM
    JV Super Smash vs Mankato State University Academy @ 6:00 PM
Saturday 10/5
    Fortnite at Playfly Split 1 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.