KEENE, N.H. – The Keene State Varsity Esports program had three of five rosters compete in Playoff College Esports Playoffs in their respective conference quarterfinals, going a combined 3-0 and all advancing to semifinals matchups slated to happen next week. Keene State Rocket League Varsity, VALORANT and Overwatch 2 join Rocket League Academy who earned a first round BYE in their bracket.
Season records (postseason in parentheses)
- Rocket League Varsity: 6-3 (1-0)
- Rocket League Academy: 6-0 (0-0)
- Valorant: 4-3 (1-0)
- Super Smash Bros. Ultimate: 3-5 (N/A)
- Overwatch 2: 6-0 (1-0)
Four Keene State Esports rosters have compete in their national conference semifinals on the week of November 18th:
Varsity Premier
Rocket League Varsity (#7) vs. Robert Morris University Blue (#6) - Mon. 11/18 @ 7:35 PM EST
Varsity Plus Mixed 3 Conference
Varsity Plus Rocket League Academy (#1) vs. UToledo Gold (#4) -Mon. 11/18 @ 8:30 PM EST
Varsity Plus Mixed 5 Conference
VALORANT (#4) vs. California State University Dominguez Hills (#1) - Tue. 11/19 @ 8:30 PM EST
Varsity Plus PLUS 2 Conference
Overwatch 2 (#1) vs. Camden County College (#5) - Wed. 11/12 @ 7:00 PM EST
Three KSC Esports playoff games will be broadcasted live on Twitch: twitch.tv/KeeneStateEsports as well as KSC Athletic's official YouTube channel: youtube.com/@KeeneStateOwls1909
Rocket League Varsity vs. Robert Morris University will be streamed on the official Playfly College Esports Twitch channel: twitch.tv/playflygg
In-Person watch parties will occur in LLC 126, the classroom next door to the KSC Esports Facility, located in the Commons classroom corridor.
Rocket League Varsity
Coming in as the seventh seed out of eight qualified teams for Playfly's Rocket League Varsity Premier division, the Owls faced a tough task as they took on the second seeded undefeated Cougars of Washington State University. Unlike their regular season matchups in which Rocket League games are contested in a best of five series, the playoffs call for a best of seven series, where the first team to win four matches wins the series. Despite a strong opponent and longer series ahead, the Owls proved to come prepared for the task and went on to defeat Washington State University 4-1. Notable moments included a sudden death overtime in match five, where
Alex Nimiroski "Normal" scored the series-clinching goal thirty seconds into the period.
This is KSC Rocket League Varsity's second trip to national post-season play. Last season, the inaugural KSC Rocket League Varsity team advanced to the Varsity Plus semifinals, losing to the eventual conference champions Kettering University. Varsity Rocket League now returns to the semifinals, this time in the highest tier of play within Playfly College Esports. Their opponent this week are the Colonials of Robert Morris University. RMU, for their part, entered the eight team postseason bracket ranked as the sixth seed, and carved their spot in the semifinals in upset fashion, defeating three-seeded RIT Orange 4-2 in a best of 7 series.
If Keene State Rocket League Varsity wins this matchup, they'd move on to the conference championship game. On the other side of the bracket, Seton Hall University (#1) and Michigan Tech (#3) face off in the semifinals, having defeated George Fox University and Cumberland University respectively. The championship game is slated to occur on Monday, December 2nd at 7:00 PM EST.
Rocket League Academy
One of two new teams added to Keene State Esports in the Fall '24 season, Rocket League Academy finished the regular season with an undefeated 6-0 record, the first such season in program history. Owing to their regular season success, Rocket League Academy was granted a first round BYE in Playfly's Varsity Mixed 3 Conference, getting an automatic bid in the semifinals. The Owls will play UToledo Gold, a divisional rival that the Owls knocked off 3-1 earlier this season. UToledo earned their semifinals appearances by defeating Wayland Baptist University, 4-3 in a series that went the distance.
If the Owls win, they would move on to the conference championship matchup, where RIT Academy Red awaits them, having won 4-1 in their semifinal match versus Columbia International University this past Friday. In Week 2 of the regular season, KSC Rocket League Academy defeated RIT Academy Red 3-2 in a five game series.
Overwatch 2
In their quarterfinal matchup, the undefeated KSC Overwatch 2 team took on the Llamas of Neumont College of Computer Science. The Owls went on to sweep the LLamas 3-0 in a best of three series. The Owls will meet divisional rival Camden County College, whom the Owls defeated 3-0 in Week 7. Camden County, the fifth ranked seed in the bracket, defeated the fourth seed Colorado College 3-1 to punch their ticket to the semifinals.
This is KSC Overwatch's second national playoff appearance; they lost in the quarterfinals in Varsity Plus East 6 Conference to conference runner ups Nichols College in their inaugural season (Spring 2024). This now marks the deepest postseason run in the history of the KSC Overwatch squad. Should they win, the Owls would face the winner of California State University Dominguez Hills and DePaul University JV Blue; both teams the Owls have not encountered this season. The championship game is scheduled to occur on Wednesday, December 4th at 8:30 PM EST.
VALORANT
KSC VALORANT opened up their postseason campaign against division-mate Coffeyville Community College, whom the Owls defeated in their final regular season game 2-0 to secure the fourth seed in the Varsity Plus Mixed 6 Conference playoff bracket. The Owls repeated history by defeating CCC 2-0 last Tuesday, with round counts being 13-5 on Ascent and 13-6 on Bind.
In the semifinal round, the Owls will take on California State University Dominguez Hills, whom the Owls fell to 0-2 in Week 5 of the regular season. If the Owls win, they move on to the conference championship match, where they would play the winner of RIT Academy Yellow and Clarke University B. The championship game is scheduled to happen at 8:30 PM EST on Tuesday, December 3rd.
This is KSC VALORANT's first season, and first playoff appearance.
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