Pride Esports closes 2024 Spring regular season
DUBUQUE, Iowa - Nearing the end of a long and successful 2023-24 overall season, the Clarke University Esports team is entering the 2024 spring postseason at the end of their regular season campaigns this semester.
Call of Duty:
Following a closely contested early season, the Pride Call of Duty team of Alec dos Santos, Ben Blackburn, Ethan Kleckler, Gavin Breed, and Dominick Gaspie were able to bounce back, ending their NACE Starleague Varsity Premier season with a 3-4 record, just one game short of qualifying for the post-season, as well as ending with a 9-6 record in the College Call of Duty League and qualifying for the Midwest regional playoffs.
The Pride will face off against the University of Northern Iowa this Saturday in their first-round post-season matchup.
FIFA:
It was another strong season in the Eastern College Athletic Conference for CU's FIFA teams in Tommy Rea and Daniil Solano. In his first season, Solano ended with a 4-4 record in 48th place, while Rea ended in 7th place with a 6-2 record. Rea once again qualified for the ECAC post-season, and will look to match his Fall runner-up performance.
Fortnite:
After a strong start to the Spring season, the Pride Fortnite team of Jacob Schemmel, Jeffrey Dema, and Derryl Meeks continued their dominance in the ECAC Duos and Trios season. The team finished in 1st place overall out of every Duo with 1370 points; over 100 points above the second-place team, while also finishing in the top 5 of every Trio.
This week the Pride head into the ECAC Fortnite Semifinals in hopes to defend their Fall championship titles next week.
Madden:
Overall the Pride Madden teams in Daniel Mycroft and James Vandun both had great ECAC season. Mycroft finished in 10th place overall with a 6-2 record, qualifying himself for the post-season starting this week, while Vandun finished in 43rd place with a 4-4 record
Rocket League:
Clarke's newest esports team was able to secure their first win in the Heart of America this spring. Unfortunately, the team faced many difficult opponents and was unable to secure a post season.
In the inaugural Heart of America Rocket League season, the Pride struggled to gain their footing with some roster inconsistencies but were able to put up a respectable performance to end their season, with the team of Blackburn, Tawan Khwanthongyim, and Shane Jordan finishing in 7th place with a 1-6 record.
Valorant:
Ending the Spring National Esports Collegiate Conference season, both Pride Valorant teams finished 1st place in their respective divisions, with the Varsity squad of Spencer Cavaco, Khwanthongyim, Kevin Nguyen, Kyle Caruso, and Matt Archer ending with a 7-0 record in the Midwest Champions Division, while the Junior Varsity team of Michael Pettke, dos Santos, Emily Nelson, Vandun, Fabian Dominguez, and Blackburn ended with a 6-1 record in the Midwest Navigators Division. Both teams head into the post-season as the #1 seed.
Meanwhile, the Varsity Valorant team managed a successful NACE Starleague Varsity Premier season all around, finishing in 3rd place with a 4-2 record. After heading into the Last Chance Qualifier for the playoffs, the Pride unfortunately lost their first-round match to the University of Texas at Dallas, ending their playoffs hopes.
Additionally, the Varsity squad once again qualified for the College Valorant playoffs in the Spring Tournament, as the teams hopes to achieve enough championship points to qualify for the CVAL Nationals.
These various Esports season will be wrapping up with postseason play for those who qualified to complete their 2023-24 season.