LEBANON, Tenn. --Cumberland Esports Overwatch Varsity team secures the NECC Conference Championship with a 4-2 victory over Arcadia University.
The Overwatch Team that is coached by Michael Decesare consists of Logan Wilson,
Reagan Dorsey,
Grey Etue,
Emil Matthiasson and
Jared Toland, currently ranked at No. 14 remained undefeated and secured the NECC Conference Championship.
For the NECC season, the Phoenix didn't miss a beat as they finished the regular season with a 7-0 record. Cumberland finds two dominant wins over Champlain College and Converse University to find themselves against Georgia Tech in the Semi-Finals. The Phoenix would go on and secure a complete sweep against the Yellow Jackets to secure their spot in the Grand Finals, where they faced Arcadia University.
Entering the Grand Finals match against Arcadia, The Phoenix started off strong as freshman Grey Etue and Jared Toland were able to find a chain of eliminations against the Knights, to allow Cumberland to capture the first point of Oasis. Going into the second point of Oasis, the Knights were able to tie the match score 1-1 with a score of 100-45. At match point, the momentum stayed with the Knights, as they were able to take map one of the series.
Going into map two of Kings Row, both the Phoenix and the Knights were able to capture the point and proceed to move the payload to the end to force overtime. To start overtime, the Phoenix started on defense, and were able to hold the Knights from capturing the point due to excellent team work by Cumberland's Logan Wilson and Regan Dorsey. Cumberland went on to capture the point on offense to tie the series, 1-1.
The momentum stayed with the Phoenix going into map three, as Cumberland was able to consistently move the payload against the Knights defense to take a 2-1 lead in the series after a 119-115 final score. Leading into map four, the Knights were able to tie the series 2-2, after a swift 3-1 map victory on New Junk City.
Cumberland chose Circuit Royal for map five and was shown to be successful as the Phoenix were able to stop the Knights from capturing all three points on defense and securing all three points on offense to take a 3-2 series lead. With the series point on the line, Cumberland's In Game Leader, Emil Matthiasson requested a timeout to go over the game plan one more time. Coming out of the timeout the Phoenix were able to find a swift 2-0 victory over the Knights in control to capture the NECC Conference Championship.
The Overwatch Varsity team secured two conference championships this week in the NECC and Playfly collegiate leagues, while throughout both seasons, the team remained undefeated.
