KEENE, N.H. – Keene State College VALORANT battled University of Redlands in the PCL Ranked 6 VALORANT Championship on Thursday, December 11th. The Owls swept the Bulldogs 2-0 to claim the second national-level championship in KSC Esports history (Overwatch 2, Fall 2024). 
 
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). 


 
Map 1: Corrode
Corrode was the site of the first map in this best of three series. KSC got off to a commanding start, with a 4-0 streak to begin the game on defense. Redlands would then take six of the next eight rounds to close the gap and tie the game at six rounds a piece heading into the second half. Now attacking in the second half, the Owls were stifled by the Bulldogs to begin, as Redlands took rounds 13 and 14 to take a 8-6 lead. 
 
In danger of losing the first map, Keene State recovered and won the next seven rounds in a row, defeating Redlands on Corrode and taking a 1-0 series lead with one more map victory needed to clinch their first championship. First-year Hayden "H-Bass" Bassett led the way for the Owls with 19 kills, which was the most among all players. He was followed closely behind by Jeremy "yerrei" Giguere (18) and Thomas "Chumbladorfian" Czwakiel (17). 
 
Map 2: Sunset
With the first map having already been hugely competitive, Sunset was even more so. The Owls would defend in the first half yet again, and traded the early rounds with the Bulldogs. The team would end up taking an 8-4 round advantage into the second half, as KSC began attacking. With just five rounds needed to win, KSC faced major opposition from Redlands, who won the first three rounds of the second half to tie the game at 8-8. KSC took a 9-8 lead in round 17, and Redlands answered right back in the next round to tie it yet again. Redlands then won round 19 to take a 10-9 lead, and this time the Owls answered back to set up another game tie of 10-10 with both teams nearing the 13 rounds needed to claim the second map. After once again trading rounds, the Owls found themselves with a 12-11 lead heading into round 24, but the Bulldogs held on and won the 24th round to once again tie the matchup, this time in 12-12 fashion.
 
A 12-12 tie triggers an overtime system in VALORANT, where teams are given enough credits to buy full loadouts every single round, while alternating which team defends and attacks every round. In order to win an overtime period, a team must win by two rounds. What followed was another thirty minutes of action between the two teams, exemplifying the importance of this game. 

The Bulldogs found themselves with an early advantage as they won round 25 to move to match point with a 13-12 advantage, which the Owls would tie to keep the game alive. Facing elimination, Yerrei found himself in a one on one situation against Redlands' Finallyfri, and he would win to tie the game 13-13. Redlands won round 27 to go up by one again, and round 28 saw more heroics from Keene State by holding the site for a post-plant defense. Several Owls grabbed kills this round, including first-year Gavin "Melatonin" Pierce with a double kill on two Redlands players to bring the score to 14 all.
 
The story remained the same as overtime continued with Redlands striking first yet again in round 29 and establishing a 15-14 advantage. Round 30 went to KSC to keep the game alive, Redlands once again took a one round lead in round 31, going up 16-15. Both teams continued slugging it out with the Bulldogs unable to put the Owls away. Round 36 saw perhaps the biggest clutch moment of the entire season for Keene State, as team captain Hailey "HMeesh" Michaud and Yerrei were the last two KSC players alive against Redlands' Neon player SoundWave569. After Yerrei was picked off by SoundWave569, HMeesh expertly played the one-on-one situation, forcing SoundWave to try to defuse the spike before it detonated, killing them in the process, which once again tied the game; this time at 18-18. In Round 37 with Keene State defending, HMeesh sealed the round with a triple kill on Redlands' Fade, Veto and Yoru players that gave Keene State a 19-18 lead. 
 
After having not held a single round advantage in overtime thus far, round 37 was where fortunes changed for Keene State. In Round 38, Keene State lost Melatonin early to a kill from SoundWave569, which Chumbladorfian traded to even players at four alive per team. Attacking the A site as a full unit, H-Bass found Redlands' DoomedPancake88 which allowed Yerrei to plant the spike, shifting pressure onto the Bulldogs, who were then outnumbered 4-3. Defending on the site, H-Bass, playing as Phoenix, threw a fire ball at Redlands, which hit two Bulldogs, killing their Omen and giving KSC a 4-2 player advantage. H-Bass then threw out two separate flashes, and blinded the two remaining Redlands players on the second throw which allowed him to kill their Veto player. H-Bass then used his ultimate ability "Run It Back" and rushed Redlands' final player, which allowed Chumbladorfian to kill them, sealing a map victory for the Owls by a score of 20-18.

For a second map in a row, H-Bass led all players in kills with 32, and right behind him was HMeesh and Chumbladorfian with 30 each. Upon victory, the Owls VALORANT team exploded into each other's arms in relief and excitement, with Melatonin hoisting teammate Yerrei on his shoulders. In all, Sunset alone took one hour and 12 minutes of gametime; the longest map KSC VALORANT has ever competed in. After the game, HMeesh commented that the team dynamic and energy during the entire overtime period was where it needed to be to make such a victory possible. 
 
The victory marked a 2-0 sweep of the University of Redlands, as Keene State VALORANT were crowned the PCL Ranked 6 champions. 
 
What's next: KSC VALORANT will receive a trophy to commemorate their accomplishment. The squad, along with KSC Rocket League Varsity, Academy Red, Academy Black, Overwatch 2 and Super Smash Bros. Ultimate will all return to PCL play for the Spring 2026 season.