Collegiate Smash Trophy is claimed yet again
Some connection issues here, some close fights there, but in the end, the UTD Smash team proves once again that they stand on top of the collegiate crew battles smash scene. With the lack of an “official” crew scene from CSL this semester, the Collegiate Smash Brothers league provided a good glimpse at some of the best crew teams in the country, even if the online environment was less than ideal. Next semester has the potential for an in person version of the league, which promises more excitement and chances
for the members of the Smash team to shine. Because a disconnect in the grand finals isn’t exactly ideal…
Overwatch team qualifies for multiple playoffs
“Ain’t gonna happen”? Looks like the Comets did make it happen instead. Though they lost to the overwhelming top team in Redbird Esports, the Comets toppled Northwood Esports, one of the best collegiate teams, in a 2-1 series. With a 9-1 record, they’ve qualified for the playoffs in the Collegiate Homecoming, and are expected to make a deep run to face off against either Redbird Esports or Northwood Esports in the later stages of the bracket. They’ve also got playoffs incoming for the NACE StarLeague as well.
VALORANT LANs continue to provide offline play
Another VALORANT LAN was held in conjunction with the VALORANT club at UTD, this time at the Rank 1 Gaming Cafe in Carrollton. While the game doesn’t have a team at the university yet, the LAN events continue to
attract a competitive crowd to play the game offline and have some sort of an offline competitive experience. With an attendance of about 20 players, there continues to be enough attendance to hold more VALORANT LANs in
the future, while sitting in the waiting room for UTD to
add a VALORANT team.
Rocket League team falls out at loser’s finals
After a close 4-3 opening match against UNLV, the Rocket League team ultimately fell down to loser’s after losing to Columbian College and then to UNLV in the loser’s finals rematch. Unfortunately, this means that the team has been knocked out of the CRL season before the national playoffs, leaving the team to rest and prepare for the spring season. The Comets this year for Rocket League have been playing excellently, so it’s unfortunate that we’ll have to wait for another semester before seeing their cars hit the
field once again.
Head Coach listing elicits general frustration
The program finally released the job listing to replace Greg Adler … and it did not go over well in the collegiate space. With an initial listing salary of ~$42,000, and the responsibilities of a director in a coaching position, the listing sparked a conversation about proper compensation online and derision towards the listing. I’m working on a more nuanced piece about this issue, but it is frustrating to see the state of support for the program due to budgetary restrictions and other administrative red tape.