E-Swarm Report: Sac State League of Legends’ undefeated streak snapped in Big Sky finals
Hornet Smash Ultimate player Rodriguez wipes out entire team alone, twice
Each week, The State Hornet will recap all the action from Sac State’s esports games.
April 2, 2021
League of Legends
Big Sky
The finals for the League of Legends Big Sky Conference ended in defeat for the Hornets at the hands of the Montana State Bobcats, who won 2-0, ending Sac State’s undefeated streak Saturday. The Hornets had played against the Bobcats previously in the third match of the regular season and won 2-0.
The Bobcats drafted an aggressive team composition, and through multiple top lane roams and ganks from the Bobcat’s jungler, pushed ahead into a lead that snowballed into a 32-minute victory with 30 to 11 kills and a 14k gold lead.
The second game went similarly, with the Bobcats drafting and playing an aggressive dive composition complemented by a Xayah/Rakan bottom combo.
“Earlier in the season they were bad at drafting comps that centered around dragon fights, this team fixed that and approached us with a really good front to back fighting comp,” said Jacob “Arcitech” Choi over Discord. “They definitely prepared more against us in terms of picks and bans.”
The game flipped on the Hornets when a teamfight at Rift Herald turned sour, netting the Bobcats four kills for two. This was followed 10 minutes later by a decisive team fight at dragon, killing all the Hornets for one Bobcat. The Bobcats won at 35 minutes with 30 kills to 17 and an 8k gold lead.
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There is still a chance that the Hornets get into the Riot Games-hosted national collegiate tournament, though it depends on getting picked from amongst all other runners-up by a selection committee that analyzes the team’s proficiency.
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.
Sac State Gold team (1-2) played and lost 2-1 against the University of Northern Colorado Bears (3-0) on Sunday.
The first game was Gold’s only victory, attributed to good choices in the character draft which allowed for significant ability combos. The second game was forfeited by Gold due to one of their players leaving for an emergency. The final game of the set was difficult with a subbed player on top of an unsuccessful character draft.
“It was mostly our team comp,” aid Moeez “moeasymoney” Nazir over Discord. “We drafted no winning lanes, no strong sides and because of that, our bot lane was dove 2-3 times in a row which just snowballed them [Bears] the game. That game was pretty rough.”
Gold team’s next game is April 4 at 5 p.m. against the team Nine Tailed Fox Venom (3-0).
Valorant
Eastern College Athletic Conference
The ECAC playoff season is starting with the Hornets entering at 6-2. Their last game of the regular season was March 23, against the State University of New York Polytechnic Institute’s Wildcats (5-3). The Hornets won in a 2-0 sweep against the Wildcats.
The Hornets get a bye for their first game of the playoffs April 6, and their first actual game will be on April 13.
New England Collegiate Conference
The Sac State Valorant Green team (4-4) won in a 2-0 sweep against John Wood Community College (0-8) on Wednesday.
The first game took place on the map Split, where the Green team took and held onto an early lead, securing their economy while constantly beating the enemy with more accurate shooting. Green won the first map 13-4.
The second game took the Green team to a rarely seen map, Icebox, where verticality and twisting corridors added difficulty to the practice of keeping all angles of entry covered. While Green took an early lead, some odd plays and some different tactics from the Blazers kept the game close. Green ended up winning the game 13-10 and set 2-0.
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The Gold team (4-4) played against Becker College (3-5) and won 2-0 Saturday.
The first game, on the map Haven, was even up until the halfway point, where Gold quickly pulled ahead through flanks, roaming as a team, and aggressive defense from Mitchell “SAC_Mitchell” Keeler. Gold won the first game 13-6.
The second game, on Ascent, saw Gold win the crucial pistol rounds before losing rapidly from good shooting and pushes from Becker College. However, the Gold team’s economy stabilized, which led to back-to-back rounds of trading, sending the game to overtime. Some quick site rotations from the Gold team cinched the game with a 15-13 victory and 2-0 set.
Both teams will be playing April 7, Gold against University of British Columbia Okanagan (2-6) and Green against University of Alabama in Huntsville (2-6).
Rocket League
The Sac State Rocket League team starts playoffs April 7 as 4-4 against Dallas Baptist University (5-3). Sac State played against DBU in its previous game of the regular season March 24, where the Hornets lost 3-2.
Super Smash Bros. Ultimate
The Sac State Gold team (4-4) will be playing its first match of the playoffs April 5 against the New York Tech Cybears team C (6-2). Gold will have the chance to avenge the Green team, who lost to the Cybears 2-1 in early March.
For their last match of the regular season Gold team played against Carroll University (2-6) on March 22 and won in a 2-0 sweep. Arturo “zoro” Rodriguez, playing Sephiroth, took all of the opposing team’s stocks by himself and only lost two of his own in the process. Directly after the first game, Rodriguez did it again, beating the opposing team members by himself and securing the set 2-0.
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“I just wanted to make it to the playoffs,” Rodriguez said. “I feel like team gold is the underdog so hopefully we can make a name for ourselves.”
The Green team (6-2) will be getting a bye for its first game of the playoffs, making its first game April 12. The team’s last match of the regular season was March 22, against State University of New York Canton, where Green won in a 2-0 sweep.
