University of St. Thomas esports team travelled to Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, to compete in the 2021 HUE Invitational. The Celts ran the tables in the 16-team League of Legends division, taking home first place and a $5,000 cash prize.
To kick off the preliminary round, St. Thomas opened up with Ohio Northern University. The Celts would set the tone in this series, defeating the Klondike in a straight 2-0 sweep.
However, the hot-streak would come to an end in the second round of group play as St. Thomas would take on Bay State College. An incomplete roster would plague the Celts in this series as the Bulldogs would jump out to an early lead and never look back, stealing a 2-0 victory.
In the final round of prelims, the Celts would look to get back to their winnings ways against Grand View University Vikings. Finally able to roll out their complete starting roster, St. Thomas would have no issue storming past the Vikings for a 2-0 win. This performance would advance them to the elimination round where they would take on Bethany Lutheran University.
Bethany Lutheran and St. Thomas would trade blows back and forth the entirety of the series. With the right to advance to the semifinals on the line, the Celts would take this three game thriller, 2-1.
Waiting for them in the semifinals would be a familiar face as the Celts were set to face Maryville University. In the Gateway Legends Invitational, Maryville would defeat St. Thomas and hand them their first loss of the season. However, this weekend the Celts would edge the Saints in convincing fashion to earn their spot in the finals.
For the third time this season, St. Thomas would compete head-to-head with St. Louis University, this time for the HUE Invitational Championship and a $5,000 cash prize. As to be expected, the Billikens and the Celts would go the distance in a highly competitive bout. Claiming the championship, and the programs first-ever top finish, would be St. Thomas after securing a 2-1 victory.
"This past weekend we took a huge step as a program" Director of Esports, Justin Pelt said. "For our league of legends team, I think we proved to the country that we are capable of being the #1 team in the country. We showed a lot of resilience throughout the tournament and pulled out clutch moments in the games that mattered most. I couldn't be more proud of both teams this past weekend."
