Kansas Esports Fall 2022 Season
A new academic year brought some changes to Kansas Esports as we added Valorant on board increasing the number of titles supported under our program. With a new title means more opportunities for students of KU to compete at the highest level of collegiate esports competition and more chances to find success within the program.
Beginning with our newest roster, Valorant competed in both the NACE and NECC seasons finishing with a combined 11-3 record across the two leagues. They found the most success in the NECC season as they went into the postseason as the #2 seed where their season ended in the semifinals as they fell to #3 seeded Arkansas.
From our newest team to our oldest team, Kansas Esports League of Legends looked to build on past results in Collegiate League of Legends (cLoL) and NACE this year. After making the postseason for both previously mentioned competitions, we fell to #1 seeded Michigan in cLoL in the regional semifinals and the second seeded St. Clair in the NACE National bracket. While we fell short of the ultimate goal in both leagues, a top 8 finish in NACE solidified Kansas as one of the stronger teams in NACE headed into the spring.
Our Overwatch team had an interesting fall season as they had to adjust to a mid-season switch to Overwatch 2 leading to a condensed NACE season. After only finishing the season 3-4, there were still some highlights as the team traveled to Highland Kansas to compete in the Quad State Showdown. Here they competed against some of the top teams in the region and took down Central Missouri and in-state rival Ottawa to take home first place. Making it the teams 4th LAN victory in 3 years!
Finally, the Rocket League squad came into the semester with big aspirations of being one of the stronger teams in the western region for Collegiate Rocket League. After falling short of qualifying for CRL, the team found themselves competing in the open series where, across 3 weeks, finished no worse than 3rd and had a 1st place finish in week 2. Their early open series success led to them not even needing to compete in the final week to finish 1st in the CCA West Fall Open Series.
With every new academic year come more chances to shine as a program, the major highlights from the fall 2022 semester are as follows: Kansas Esports Rocket League becoming the Kansas Speedway LAN Champions after taking down rival Mizzou as well as a finishing in the top spot of the CCA Open West region. Our League of Legends, Rocket League and Valorant teams traveling to Manhattan Kansas to compete in a 3-game competition against K-State where all 3 of our teams got the wins after an exciting finish to the Valorant match. And finally, the Overwatch team winning another LAN tournament, this time in Highland Kansas after taking down Ottawa!
Keep up to date on Kansas Esports by following them @kansasesport, and find out how you can get involved at esports.ku.edu.
Special thanks to all of the Kansas Esports sponsors for the 2022-23 academic year. AT&T, Rockstar Energy Drink, Kansas Lottery, Konica Minolta, HyperX, and Central Bank!
About the KU Memorial Union: The KU Memorial Union, a not-for-profit affiliate of the University of Kansas, operates the KU Bookstores, KU Dining, KU Event Services, and KU Union Programs. Its major campus facilities include the Kansas Union, the Burge Union, and the DeBruce Center. Proceeds resulting from Union services are reinvested into KU student initiatives. For more information about the KU Memorial Union or any of its services, please call JJ O’Toole-Curran at (785) 864-2436.