Featured Image: Left to right: Senior Bailey Miller, Junior Garrette Kellam, Senior Brandon Kwon and freshman Trent Hammer celebrate after achieving fourth place in the Collision on the Coast Tournament on Feb. 25. @vwuesports on Instagram | Courtesy
Esports hosted its first in-person tournament with 14 other teams.
On Feb. 25, 15 schools competed in a Collision on the Coast Esports tournament in the Town Bank Arena, Beverly Hall and the Esports Arena. George Mason University won the tournament and was awarded $1,000. King University got second place and was awarded $700. New Jersey Institute of Technology got third place and was awarded $500. Virginia Wesleyan came in fourth place and was awarded $300.
According to Esports members senior Brandon Kwon, senior Bailey Miller and junior Garrette Kellam, the teams in the tournament played their bracket in best of 3, 5 and 7 with double elimination. In the end, teams who placed in the top four received prize money ranging between $300-1,000.
Over the last four years, no collegiate tournament for Esports had been in-person like the one Kwon and his team planned. Invites were sent out to several schools to see if they were interested in participating and from there, the VWU team started organizing with the school to have certain locations available for the matches to be played. Each team paid a registration fee which went into the prize pools and all profits made went back into the event.
the Coast tournament on Saturday, Feb. 25. Hailey Schumacher | Courtesy
The team also asked for the Grille and Coastal Market to be open for the day so the other teams could remain on campus for the matches and be able to enjoy some food.
Rocket League is a vehicular soccer video game with rocket-powered cars. The game includes single-player and multiplayer modes that are played online. Players control a rocket-powered car and use it to hit a ball towards the other team’s goal area to score.
The players can also pick up a speed boost by passing their cars over marked space on the field, enabling them to quickly cross the field, use the added momentum to hit the ball or ram into another player’s car to destroy it.
A player may use a boost when in the air to propel themselves forward in flight, allowing players to hit the ball in the air.
After a great start in the upper bracket, the VWU blue team made it to semifinals against New Jersey IT and lost in a best of 5, placing them in the lower bracket. The VWU white team, also in the upper bracket, played New Jersey IT, losing in round 1 for best of three. In the lower bracket, the VWU white team played Mary Washington, losing in a best of three.
Finally, the VWU blue team played King A in the semifinal round, losing in a best of five. In the final match of the day, George Mason and King A played in a best of 7 games, with George Mason placing first in the tournament.
By Chloe Booher
crbooher@vwu.edu
& Colette Kearney
cmkearney@vwu.edu