KERRVILLE, Texas - At the league's third Esports Showdown, and first in-person gathering since the inaugural 2019 event, the University of St. Thomas edged Colorado College to win its first SCAC Esports team title. 2022 Esports Showdown Website
Just as it was in 2019, the two-day Showdown was again hosted on the campus of Schreiner University in Kerrville, Texas. Over 170 students and coaches were on hand for this year's event where teams from eight schools competed in League of Legends, Overwatch, Valorant, Rocket League, Apex Legends and Super Smash Bros. Crew.
The team title came down to the wire Saturday evening as St. Thomas and Colorado College jockeyed for points, highlighted by a head-to-head matchup between the two for the Overwatch title. The Celts made quick work of the Tigers, who were the two-time defending Overwatch champions, rolling to a quick 4-0 victory in the best-of-seven showdown.
With the completion of the Overwatch event, all eyes focused on the ongoing League of Legends final between St. Thomas and Trinity where not only that game's championship hung in the balance, but the SCAC Esports Showdown team title. A St. Thomas victory in LofL would also clinch the team championship for the Celts; a win for Trinity, however, would provide the margin needed for Colorado College to defend its team title.
After Trinity jumped out to a 2-0 lead in the best-of-five competition, St. Thomas came roaring back, earning the eventual 3-2 victory which also solidified the league championship for the Celts. Both Colorado College and St. Thomas finished with 12 total points, but UST laid claim to the team title by virtue of the Showdown tiebreaker, which was most team championships. The Celts won three events to one for Colorado College.
In the final event of Showdown, Concordia (Texas) held off Schreiner in a special 30-minute playoff to determine the Apex Legends champion. The Tornados nipped the host Mountaineers, 56-53, to claim the team title. Austin College finished in third with 52 points.
Rounding out the final team standings, Concordia (Texas), which had shared the 2021 Esports title with Colorado College, finished third with nine points. Schreiner was fourth with eight points, Trinity was fifth with seven points, Austin College finished sixth with six points, Southwestern was seventh with three points and Hendrix finished eighth with one point.
Saturday morning action opened with the League of Legends consolation match as Austin College defeated Hendrix College, 2-0, mounting a huge comeback in the second game to clinch third place.
Later Saturday morning, Trinity completed its undefeated run through Super Smash Bros. Crew, defeating Colorado College, 2-0, in the championship match.
In the Valorant championship match, Southwestern's cinderella run came to an end as St. Thomas earned the 3-0 best-of-five victory over the Pirates to claim the team title. On the opposite stage, and at about the same time, Concordia (Texas) posted a similar 3-0 best-of-five win over Austin College in the Overwatch bronze medal match.
Concordia (Texas) earned its second consecutive bronze medal finish of the day, and once again at the expense of Austin College, as the Tornados took a 4-1 best-of-seven victory over the 'Roos in the Rocket League third place match.
Overwatch semifinal play opened play on Friday with the favorites holding serve as top-seeded St. Thomas defeated fourth-seeded Austin College, 3-0, and second-seeded Colorado College defeated third-seeded Concordia (Texas), 3-0.
Seeding did not hold, however, in the Valorant semifinals as fourth-seeded Southwestern pulled the first major upset of the Showdown, knocking off top-seeded Colorado College, 2-1. On the other side of the bracket, second-seeded St. Thomas defeated third-seeded Hendrix College, 2-0. Later that afternoon, in the Valorant consolation match, Hendrix pulled out a 2-1 victory over Colorado College to take third place, leaving the top-seeded Tigers to settle for fourth.
In Super Smash Bros. bracket play, which was held throughout the morning on Friday, Colorado College defeated Concordia (Texas), 9-0, Southwestern defeated Austin College, 2-0, Trinity gave Colorado College its first loss, 3-0, and Schriener blanked Southwestern, 5-0. The final two unbeatens faced off with Trinity defeating Schreiner, 5-0.
In elimination play that followed, Colorado College defeated Austin College, 14-0, and Concordia (Texas) beat Southwestern, 9-0. For the second time on the day, Colorado College defeated Concordia (Texas), this time 4-0 to eliminate the Tornados, and then nipped Schriener, 2-0, to advance to Saturday's championship match against unbeaten Trinity.
Rocket League competition got underway later Friday afternoon as fifth-seeded Austin College defeated fourth-seeded Hendrix, 3-1, and third-seeded Concordia (Texas) blanked sixth-seeded Trinity, 3-0, in quarterfinal play. The top two seeds, No. 1 Colorado College and No. Schreiner, had byes into the semifinal round and validated their top slots as CC knocked off Austin College, 4-2, and Schreiner defeated Concordia (Texas), 4-1.
