Esports Valorant team upsets way to NECC Title

Dec. 6, 2022

Lakeland's University's Esports Valorant team completed a series of upsets Monday night to win the National Esports Collegiate Conference Valorant Championship.

Valorant is a team-based first-person tactical hero shooter set in the near future. Players play as one of a set of Agents, and characters are based on countries and cultures around the world. In the main game mode, players are assigned to either the attacking or defending team with each team made up of five players. Their goal is to plant the "spike" when attacking and win the round. When defending, they have to prevent the opposing team from planting. The winner is the first to reach 13 points and win by two.

Valorant teams compete in the NECC Emergents division, and Lakeland competes in the Emergents Midwest division.

The Muskies Valorant team started the season strong with a win over Southern Illinois University-E White, then lost their next four before finishing the regular season with a 3-5 record that earned the fifth seed in the Midwest Division.

The fifth-seeded Muskies won a best-of-five Valorant series at third-seeded Carthage College to win the title. Earlier in the playoffs, Lakeland beat fourth-seeded Purdue White 2-0 in a best of three in the first round, a team the Muskies had lost to earlier in the season. LU toppled top-seeded Augustana Yellow 2-0 in a best of three in the semifinals.

Members of the winning Lakeland team include: Seniors Alex Burgos of Salem, Wis., and Zach Gallipeau of Sheboygan, Wis.; sophomores Nick Sorenson and Ethan Jacquart both of Two Rivers, Wis.; and freshman Mason Hansen of Menasha, Wis.

"Our players showed grit, grind and mental fortitude during their finals match," said Lakeland Esports Head Coach Ahman Green. "Valorant games can take up to or more than an hour each, and the finals match lasted over five hours. This team really gelled as a unit during the playoffs and I'm proud of them for this championship run."

The final was a back-and-forth affair as Lakeland won the first game 13-6, Carthage won the second 14-12 in overtime, Lakeland won the third 18-16 in OT, Carthage won the fourth 13-7 and Lakeland clinched the title with a 13-8 win in the fifth game.

https://lakeland.edu/post/esports-valorant-team-upsets-way-to-necc-title-2022-12-06

New Students: Esports Scholarships Now Available At Lakeland 

@everyone I am happy to announce that Lakeland University has created an Esports Scholarship Program Fund to award $1,000 - $3,000/year for new, qualified students. Esports Scholarships are stackable with Lakeland's academic ($10,000 - $16,000/year) and cooperative education ($2,000 - $4,000) scholarships. The scholarships are available for new, full-time enrolled freshman or transfer students in the traditional undergraduate program at Lakeland's home campus outside of Sheboygan, Wisconsin. Outside sponsorships and donations have allowed Lakeland to create this scholarship fund to help support the recruitment and development of Lakeland's Esports Program into a nationally renowned program. 

Scholarship Awarding Process: 
Prospective students can be offered LU Esports Scholarships by the Head Coach @[Lakeland University]Ahman Green. Interested new students should set up an official in-person or virtual campus visit to visit the facility, meet the staff and players, and audition/try out by playing with staff and/or players (https://www.lakeland.edu/visit). 

Become an Esports Recruit:
Prospective students can also begin the recruitment process by completing our Recruitment Questionnaire: https://connect.lakeland.edu/register/esports

 Renewing Requirements:
- Maintain full-time enrollment in the traditional undergraduate program at the main campus
- Maintain a 2.0 cumulative GPA
- Maintain good standing (personal conduct) with the campus community
- Embody the core values of Lakeland's Esports Program
- Maintain active status on the esports roster
- Maintain strong service to esports program beyond competitions (not limited to: staffing summer esports camps, assist with esports recruitment, assist with social media, streaming production, shoutcasting, etc.)
eSports Questionnaire