Esports Weekly Wrap-Up: Jan 22 – Jan 27
Amelia Green Jan 26, 2024
We have some riveting news coming into the last week before the first week of official seasons! Monday was filled with CS2, FC, and R6 practicing and scrimming for all of our fans to see. Overwatch 2 finally got some spotlight on our stream on Tuesday while the Smash Weekly was also taking place; overall, it was a hectic day with a great atmosphere. Rocket League, Valorant, and Overwatch take over the lab on Wednesday, featuring a brilliant scrim between our Vandal Varsity Valorant and JV teams. Thursday was even busier, with Teamfight Tactics, LoL, R6, Smash, Valorant, and Mortal Kombat all coming into the lab. While we did try to bring CS2 on stream, we ended up only streaming Valorant scrimming Columbia Basin College again. Friday had LoL against WSU in person! As well as hosting FC, Omega Strikers, and CS2 as we had some more friendly rivalry with our Washington neighbors. Saturday was a lovely day for a chess competition.
While we only streamed CS2, FC diligently practiced trading tips and strategies for the game independently. R6 followed along and practiced through the game with guidance from their coach. CS2 scrimmed against an unknown group, resulting in an impressive show of technical capabilities and adaptation. Throughout the match, severe oscillations between the teams in wins, eco rounds, and luck made it worth the watch. The game concluded 11-13 in favor of the unknowns, but overall, it determined what the team and individual players needed to work on. As long as we see such developments, there should be no worries heading into the coming season.
Tuesday, a busy day, was filled with Smash excitement and Overwatch 2 chaos. Smash held a weekly; as the name implies, it is a weekly tournament occasionally held in the Esports Lab but run by Palouse Gaming. This weekly is an open-invitation tournament that brings much joy to all those who participate and observe! Overwatch 2 is a fascinating stream for our staff as we finally put the game on our channel. This match was a scrim between our Varsity and JV teams that demonstrated a swath of skills and intimate knowledge of the various maps and objectives in the game. Varsity won all four matches played, but JV put up an admirable fight.
The Valorant stream dominated Wednesday night, but RL and Overwatch 2 also showed up for more practice alongside an impressive Varsity against JV match in Valorant. On the first map, Ascent, JV began with a good lead of three rounds. The score at the shifting point was 3-3 going into the 7th round. Here, Varsity really started taking charge and winning the match. The final score of the first game was 13-5, with the Varsity taking the last match with only Blud playing Astra with an Odin and Loftech playing KJ with a Phantom. We did not stream the rest of the matches; however, the Vandals could gauge the necessary improvements for the season through this match.
The night of the 25th was full of different teams and lots of energy. Valorant again held a scrim against Columbia Basin, resulting in an entertaining stream for our viewers. A very close match as we won 2-1 in the series. We swept the first game, admirably lost our second game, and made a comeback in the third.
Friday was a fun night with many guests joining us in the Vandal Esports Lab from WSU. The LoL teams competed in a nice night of friendly rivalry! The first match, despite technical difficulties, was a win for WSU. The Vandals fought hard but weren’t able to hold the line in the end. The second round was much closer, but still resulted in a Vandal loss.
Thank you for reading, and a thank you to all of our wonderful scrim partners! Please join us on our Twitch – UIdahoEsports -, our YouTube channel – UIdahoEsports -, or come join us in person at the Pittman Center!