League of Legends teams take Big Sky bye and MetaShift Loss

The Sac State Hornets League of Legends team received a bye for its first game of the Big Sky playoffs due to the low number of teams in the bracket, six teams leaving two byes. The Hornets’ next game is against Northern Arizona University, whom they played and won against Feb. 20 in the normal season, on March 20 at 3 p.m.

MetaShift League

The MetaShift league is a new seasonal tournament with it’s own prize support of $500 for first place, $300 for second and $50 for third and fourth. Each team is put into a bracket based off of their highest ranking player.

The Gold team played and lost its first match in the MetaShift League against the Elventus Crimson Reapers on Sunday with a final score of 2-0. 

For both the first and second games, the outlook was good initially. Top lane was pushed out and Sac State had few deaths and good morale. During the first game the Reapers’ midlaner and jungler got multiple kills during team fights allowing them to carry their team to victory. 

The second game turned around on the Gold team when their lack of map vision and overall coordination granted an irrecoverable advantage to the Reapers, who picked off Sac State players and built a gold advantage. The second game ended in a base race, a situation where both teams are attacking each other’s bases simultaneously, with the Gold team falling behind by just a couple basic attacks.

“It’s just the first series of the season and our first official game together, so we’re bound to gain more knowledge and get better as a unit and I’m hopeful for that,” said Navjot “Ishe” Singh, Gold team’s jungler.

Gold team’s next game is Sunday at 5 p.m. against Northern Michigan University.

ECAC Valorant team narrowly loses, NECC teams fight tooth and nail

Eastern College Athletic Conference

Sac State (5-2) played against Wayne State College (6-1) in ECAC Valorant on Tuesday. The Hornets ended up losing a very close match 2-1. While some risky plays by the Hornets led to some radical wins in individual rounds, more often than not they’d cause one or two deaths during these plays, putting the team behind for no benefit.

The first game took place on the map Ascent where both the Hornets and Wayne State kept within a couple of rounds of each other. The game went into overtime, and thanks to some sharp shooting, the Hornets took the first game of the set 17-15.

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The next game, on the map Bind, was almost identical, just with the shoe on the other foot. The risky plays from the Hornets ended up not paying off and costed them more ground than they gained. Getting back into overtime, Wayne State took the advantage and doubled down, playing far more cautiously against the Hornets and winning the game 17-15 to tie the set.

The final game took place on the map Haven and was nothing like the previous games. Wayne State took a commanding lead and followed through at every opportunity, eventually securing the game 13-6 and winning the set 2-1.

The Hornets’ final game of the regular season will take place Tuesday at 5 p.m. Their opponent is to be determined.

New England Collegiate Conference

The Sac State Valorant Green team (2-3) lost 0-2 against the Florida Gulf Coast Arcanes (3-2). The Arcanes kept Green on the backfoot, forcing Green to be defensive even on attack throughout the first game, on the map Bind. 

The second game, on the map Ascent, was very different. Green lost the early pistol rounds but came back from a seven-round deficit and tied the game, sending the teams into overtime. For four more rounds, neither team could keep ahead until some excellent shooting by the Arcanes took two more rounds, winning the game 16-14.

“I think it was just unfortunate for our Bind match and we’re still trying to refine it,” said Sac State Green team player Miguel “RuKs” Santiago over Discord. “As for Ascent, I think our retakes and comms were on point, most of the rounds on Ascent were 50/50 and I think we just need to learn how to play better as a team.”

The Gold team (3-2) won a 2-0 sweep against Tiffin University (1-4) on March 17. The first game took place on the map Bind where the Gold team’s tight plays and communication won out 13-10. In the next game on Haven, Gold continued their momentum, disrupting enemy plays through full team site rotations winning the game 13-5.

The Sac State Valorant Green and Gold teams’ next matches are both March 24 against Johnson and Wales University, and UC Davis 2 respectively.

Sweeping loss in Rocket League

The Sac State Rocket League team (4-3) lost against the College of Staten Island Dolphins (5-2) on Wednesday. 

Initially the first game went well, with Sac State making some long shots and keeping up with the Dolphins. However, the Dolphins eventually pulled away and won the first game in the set 5-3. 

This was furthered in the second game, which ended 9-2, and the third game, which ended 10-1, when the Dolphins put the pedal to the metal scoring goal after goal.

Sac State’s next game will be March 24. Pairings have not yet been posted.

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Gold Smash Ultimate team walled out by Corrin, Green team cinches narrow win

Sac State Smash Ultimate Gold team (3-4) played against the Molloy College Lions (4-3) and lost in a 2-0 sweep Monday. While both games in the set were close, with Sac State’s Arturo “zoro” Rodriguez’s Sephiroth carving up the opponents’ starter Robert “MEAT” Callahan, the Lions pulled ahead through the use of Nicholas “N.” Miller’s Corrin and her wide, high-damage attacks and heavier weight.

Miller took his toll in stocks from the Gold team, leaving the remaining couple for the heavier and harder-hitting Bowser played by the Lion’s Andrew “Shugokimon” Austin. Though the Bowser was defeated early in the second game the damage had been done causing the Lions to win the match.

The Sac State Green team (5-2) won 2-1 against University of Hartford (4-3) on Monday. Green lost the first game in the set due to Hartford’s aggressive Peach plays and her constant comboing, keeping Green on the defensive regardless of matchup.

The second game, Peach presented the same problem, making the game an uphill battle as Peach took all of Aaron “ArgonGames” George’s stocks. However, Jahque “JJStatic” Wilson picked up the slack as Snake, winning the second game and tying the set. The final game in the set came down to the exact same issue, Peach taking George’s stocks and Wilson cleaning the game up with one stock left.

Green and Gold’s final games of the regular season will both take place Monday.