UST esports had a strong showing at the Gateway Legends Collegiate Invitational this past weekend, locking in a third-place finish.
"Overall, I believe our kids came out and put UST on the map as a team to be reckoned with in the CLOL season" said Assistant Director of esports, Justin Pelt.
The tournament started with the Celts impressing in group play. To open up, they battled St. Louis University in a competitive series. An unexpected jungle pick from the Billiken's caught the Celts off guard, but they were able to rally together and bounce back for the victory.
The second game of group play saw St. Thomas challenging national powerhouse, Maryville University. Although the Celts competed and made certain adjustments to match the high level of play, Maryville pulled out the victory to force St. Thomas into an elimination game.
With the rights to advance to the knockout stage on the line, the Celts yet again faced the Billikens of St. Louis University. After their competitive opening game, where unfamiliar tactics were thrown at them, St. Thomas knew exactly which draft to use for their second bout. The Celts would soon secure the #2 seed heading into the next round after a convincing victory.
As the tournament proceeded, the competition grew stronger. St. Thomas was now set to face Harrisburg University, the #4 team in the country. In what was known to be the most intense game of the entire tournament, the Celts pulled off the come-from-behind victory to solidify UST esports' legitimacy.
"The way we were able to come out in our first weekend as a team and beat the #4 ranked team in the country in a come from behind fashion shows the potential of this team" Pelt added. "It's exciting to see what they can do with a whole semester of practice and scrims together."
After an eye-opening victory, the Celts advanced to the semifinals, where the defending National Champion Eagles of Winthrop University were waiting for them. St. Thomas would ride their momentum from the previous series to take a competitive, back-and-forth game one. The Eagles wouldn't go away that easily, as they stormed back in game two to force a third game. The Celts would jump out the gates and hold a 3,000-point gold lead, but Winthrop would weather the storm and eventually come back to defeat St. Thomas.
"Even though we're a first-year program, I believe most people would consider us a top-five team in the country" said Pelt. "If our roster stays intact, we have expectations to be in the conversation for a national championship."
