KEENE, N.H. – Keene State College Varsity Esports wrapped up its first full week of competition during the week of September 29th, going a combined 4-2 across its six teams.
Keene State Esports is a Varsity member of PlayVS College League (PCL). Formerly known as Playfly College Esports, PCL is one of the largest governing bodies of collegiate esports competition in the world. PCL sanctions competitions from colleges and universities across the United States and Canada, awarding scholarship money and hardware to successful teams each season (Fall and Spring).
KSC Esports teams compete in a regular season schedule and a playoff bracket, if they qualify. Divisions of play are divided into two categories: Premier and Ranked, with Premier being the highest level of play PCL offers. Premier competition includes scholarships and in-person end-of-season tournaments (known as LAN's). KSC's Varsity Rocket League and Overwatch 2 teams are designated for PCL Premier while KSC VALORANT, Academy Red and Black, and Super Smash Bros. Ultimate will compete in PCL Ranked.
All KSC Esports games are streamed on Twitch, at
twitch.tv/KeeneStateEsports and
twitch.tv/KeeneStateEsports2, as well as KSC Athletics' official YouTube page
youtube.com/@keenestateowls1909.
Keene State Rocket League
KSC Varsity Rocket League took on Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in PCL Premier action on Tuesday, September 30th, which was broadcast live on the PCL Twitch page.
Game 1: KSC achieved the first goal of the series early, when Jack "JackAttack16000" Manning, off of a pass from Andrew "Aurorxs" Sorcinelli, scored in the first 23 seconds. The Owls held a 1-0 lead all the way to the one minute, 45 second mark where RPI's CowTipper42 tied the game. This 1-1 tie was carried to a sudden-death overtime period where the Engineers took the game with a goal from FirsT at the 38 second mark to give RPI the 1-0 series lead.
Game 2: After losing Game 1, the Owls were not to be deterred, as they built a 7-1 lead with one minute, 17 seconds. In that stretch, Alex "normal" Nimiroski scored three goals in the three second mark, the 43 second mark and the 51 second mark. RPI would score a goal at 1 minute, 45 seconds to make the game 3-1 in favor of KSC. KSC piled on with goals from Jackattack at 1:51 and again at 2:54. Aurorxs would contribute goal 6 at 3:11, and normal provided his fourth goal of the game at 3:43. The Engineers scored one more goal with 18 seconds remaining to make the score 7-2, but the deficit was too great as the Owls took game 2 and tied the series 1-1 all.
Game 3: Game 3 saw both teams bring more defensive gusto, as both teams were scoreless for the entire first half of regulation until RPI's FirsT scored at two minutes, 29 seconds. The Owls responded with a clutch tying goal from normal with just 48 seconds remaining. For the second time this series, sudden-death overtime was needed. Redeeming themselves from their game 1 overtime defeat, Aurorxs scored the game-winning goal after 58 seconds, assisted by normal. The Owls won game 3 by a 2-1 score, and took a 2-1 series lead.
Game 4: RPI came out strong in game 4, as CowTipper42 scored off the kickoff, just three seconds into game time. Aurorxs responded instantly for KSC, scoring just 16 seconds later, once again assisted by normal. FirsT struck again for the Engineers, giving RPI a 2-1 lead at the 1:31 mark. The Owls would fire off three straight goals by all three Owls: Aurorxs (1:50), normal (2:10) and Jackattack (2:17), and normal once again at 2:45 and 3:34 to give the Owls a 6-2 lead with one minute, 26 seconds left. RPI got back on the board at 3:45 with a goal by CowTipper42, but that would be the final goal of the series as KSC held on to a 6-3 game lead to take the deciding game, winning the series 3-1 over the Engineers.
What's next: KSC Varsity Rocket League takes on Fisher College at 7 PM on Tuesday, 10/7.
KSC Rocket League Academy Red took on Penn College on Tuesday night, losing 3-0.
Game 1: The Owls secured first blood on the series with a goal from Ryan "Dreamz" Morrison at 1:03, and held the lead for a minute until Caz57 tied the game at the 1:58 mark. Dreamz responded off of the next kickoff, and gave the Owls the lead again with an assist from Eric "Twisty9" at 2:03. CuriosityPlanet went on a tear for the Wildcats however, scoring goals at 2:46, 3:38 and 4:12 to give Penn College a 4-2 lead with 48 seconds left. KSC was unable to respond, and the Wildcats took a 1-0 series lead.
Game 2: Game 2 started scoreless for the first half, until the Wildcats took a 1-0 lead off of a goal from Caz57 with 2 minutes, 26 seconds remaining. BlackOnBlood would score at 3:36, giving Penn College a 2-0 lead. CuriosityPlanet added a goal of their own with 11 seconds left. Twisty9 got KSC on the board with three seconds left, assisted by Aidan "Maudlu" Law, bringing the game to its final score of 3-1 and the series to a 2-0 lead for the Wildcats.
Game 3: BlackOnBlood scored early for Penn College, at 20 seconds, and unassisted. This 1-0 lead persisted for over two minutes, until Maudlu tied the game off of an unassisted goal at 2:31. This 1-1 score lasted for over two minutes, with a nailbiting final minute of ball control being traded by both teams. Penn College, however, broke the stalemate and took a 2-1 lead with 30 seconds left with a goal by CuriosityPlanet. There was not enough time for the Owls to respond with a tying goal, and Penn College took the series-deciding third game to complete the series sweep of KSC Academy Red 3-0.
What's next: Rocket League Academy Red will take on Northern Michigan University Yellow on Tuesday 10/7 at 8:30 PM.
KSC Rocket League Academy Black
KSC Academy Black was slated to begin their PCL season against the New Jersey Institute of Technology, however, NJIT was forced to forfeit due to not fielding a complete roster, giving KSC Academy Black a 1-0 record on the season.
What's next: KSC Rocket League Academy Black looks to Tuesday 10/7, where they will take on St. John's University at 7 PM; this game will be broadcasted on twitch.tv/KeeneStateEsports2.
KSC Overwatch took on Michigan Tech in PCL Premier play on October 1st.
Map 1: Ilios
Michigan Tech won the opening coin toss and chose Ilios for Map 1. Michigan Tech dominated most of the first point, securing 99% control point progress before KSC was able to take the point momentarily, securing 10% progress. MTU won one final teamfight on the first point to take a 1-0 lead in the best-of-three game mode.
The second point saw more back and forth action, with teams trading off point control, with the Owls securing as much as 41%. The Huskies, however, were able to hold on and won the second point 100%-41%, taking the first map and the series lead 1-0.
Map 2: Kings Row
KSC selected Kings Row for Map 2. KSC attacked point first, and managed to secure the control point. After a few failed attempts, KSC managed to swing the momentum heavily with one minute and 30 seconds remaining after consecutive eliminations from Shea "Hotpocket" Castriotta as Hazard, followed by Connor "HoodNut" Malone on Venture and Eli "Goofymcgoob" Volpini on Cassidy. The Owls managed to capture with 51 seconds remaining and now were able to move the payload towards the point two capture point. The Owls kept MTU on their backfoot, and pushed the payload as close as 1.61 meters from the end of the point to secure more time, but the Huskies staved off a final attempt. The Huskies would need to capture the first control point and move the payload 113.08 meters; .01 more than the Owls, to win.
On defense, KSC held off MTU for over a minute, before the Huskies overwhelmed the first point and secured it with 2 minutes, 43 seconds left. The Huskies would roll through most of the second point, but a late teamfight win from the Owls at the 2 minute, 30 second mark halted progress. MTU was able to recover however, and secured the point with one minute, 55 seconds left to win Kings Row 2-1, bringing the series to a 2-0 MTU lead.
Map 3: Suravasa
The Owls selected Flashpoint map Suravasa for Map 3. Substituting Matt "Midas" in for Hotpocket at the Tank position, the Owls rolled out in an attempt to keep the series alive. In this first-to-three game mode, MTU secured the first flashpoint objective by a score of 100%-0%. Midas swapped heroes from Zarya to Winston, however, and KSC altered their fortunes for a moment. After MTU captured point 2 for 45% progress, the Owls flipped it and held it all the way to 100%, staving off several scrappy retake attempts from the Huskies to tie the game at 1-1.
Michigan Tech succeeded in taking the final two points, however, and won the map with a score of 3-1, and won the entire series 3-0.
What's next: KSC Overwatch takes on The College of New Jersey on Wednesday, 10/8 at 7 PM EST.
Keene State VALORANT
KSC VALORANT opened their PCL season on October 2nd against King University.
Map 1: Haven
The Owls opened up with a dominant first map, starting on defense. The first kill of the Owls' season came from first-year recruit Hayden "H-Bass" Basset as Waylay, taking out King's Pol3r Eff3ct. KSC kept the momentum running throughout all of Haven, eventually winning with a score of 13-0, not allowing King to secure a single round win. Collectively, the Owls collected 65 kills and 12 deaths; Thomas "Chumbladorfian" Czwakiel ended the game with 0 deaths and tied with H-Bass for the most kills in the game, with 17.
Map 2: Bind
Bind would be the site of map 2, and the Owls proved that the outcome of Haven would be a sign of things to come for the remainder of the match. The Owls began Bind on defense, and the first kill of this game would come from captain Hailey "HMeesh" Michaud, as Brimstone, taking out King's KUT0B4LL as Viper, using Brimstone's incendiary grenade launcher ability.
First-year recruit Gavin "Melatonin" Pierce led all players with 19 kills. Jeremy "yerrei" Giguere would finish the map with 0 deaths as well. Like map one, the Owls totaled for exactly 65 kills and 12 deaths as a team once again.
The team will take on RIT Academy Lime on Thursday, October 9th at a time to be determined.
Keene State Super Smash Bros. Ultimate
Keene State SSBU officially opened up their PCL season on Friday, October 3rd at 7 PM vs Immaculata University.
Match 1:
The game opened with KSC's Jackson "Jackabot27" Schimpf as Steve versus IU's first player, as Game and Watch. Jackabot emerged victorious, securing all three stocks while retaining one himself. IU's next player entered as King K. Rool. With only one stock available, Jackabot managed to take away two of King K. Rool's stocks before finally being eliminated, which gave KSC a 9-7 stock lead as Matt "squidman" Silvestri entered, as Mario. Squidman held two stocks as he took away King K. Rool's final stock.
IU's next player selected Ganondorf. Squidman managed to catch fire at this point, and three-stocked Ganondorf, while still holding all of his own stocks, which gave KSC a 8-3 lead with Immaculata's final player up. IU's final player selected Mario. In the Mario versus Mario battle, the two traded eliminations back and forth, including a combination throw into a spike off of the stage performed by Squidman; an individual highlight of the evening. IU's Mario emerged victorious, owing to having an extra stock as they entered the game, and took Squidman's final two stocks while retaining one. With a 6-1 stock lead, KSC sent in their next player, Aidan "Sour" Zimmer, as Piranha Plant. Sour made quick work of IU's Mario's final stock, and the Owls took the first match by a score of 6-0 to take a 1-0 lead in the best-of-three series.
Match 2:
KSC once again led with Jackabot27 as Steve, and IU opened with Mario. After taking 5 stocks in match 1, Jackabot maintained momentum by eliminating all three of IU's Mario's stocks and losing just one in the process. Immaculata next sent in their Game and Watch player. Like Mario, Jackabot eliminated all three stocks while losing one in the process, giving KSC a 10-6 lead with Immaculata's third player entering. IU's third player selected Joker, and quickly took Jackabot's final stock. In response, the Owls sent in Sour, as Falco. In the scrappiest fight of the night, Sour and IU's Joker alternated blows, with Sour emerging victorious with one stock remaining, which kept the Owls lead at 7-3.
Immaculata's final player selected Ganondorf. With only one stock remaining, Sour was unable to take any of Ganondorf's away, and was eliminated, reducing KSC's lead to 6-3 as the Owls next sent in Squidman as Mario. Squidman took one stock from Ganondorf, as Ganondorf stayed hot, taking all three of Squidman's stocks, making the game within reach for IU as KSC only held a 3-2 lead at this juncture.
To take on IU's final player, KSC's final player Brody "ph4r0h" Freehling entered as Min Min. Ganondorf continued to cause trouble, and took two of ph4r0h's stocks, and the match entered a sudden-death scenario with both players retaining just one stock. Ph4r0h managed to hold strong and eliminated IU's Ganondorf, giving the Owls a narrow 1-0 stock victory in match 2, and giving them a 2-0 series victory to improve to 1-0 on the season.
What's next: KSC SSBU will take on St. John's University at 7 PM on Friday, October 10th.
