The Falcons are back from a busy holiday season with gifts to bring in the new year! As our returning & new members get ready for an entirely new season of competition starting later this month, let's recap the biggest moments from our first season's playoff runs.
Both UWRF Overwatch 2 teams battled their way into a total of 3 championship bouts across their divisions in NACE and NECC. The F1 roster, consisting of our top talent, emerged victories and secured a NACE Varsity Plus Divisional Championship to capstone their season in a 3-1 comeback victory against DePaul University.
Led by Sophomore grandmaster tank player
Jamason Johnson, the Falcons rallied back from an early 0-1 map deficit in the series to take back control in the 2nd map of the series en route to a decisive 3-1 win in the best of 5 finals. After a season of relying on North American Top 500 DPS player and Freshman
Maple Wiggins, the Falcons rallied around the performance of substitute
Aaron Benck, a Junior and starter for the League of Legends squad. Benck has consistently subbed for both the Overwatch 2 and Super Smash Bros. Ultimate rosters this season, and his ability to step up in pivotal moments shone through with his Junkrat play in the final moments of the season. Rounding the championship were Freshmen players
Gavin Folkert,
Calvin Benrud, and
Cohen Bolopue. This marks UW-River Fall's first ever esports title coming hot on the heels of their launch in September of 2023.
The Falcons competed in several championship matches culminating in impressive 2nd place finishes across multiple leagues. UWRF Rocket League made a miraculous run to Grand Finals as the 14th seed in the Wisconsin Collegiate Rocket League (WCRL) Fall 2023 Championship Tournament, toppling the #3 UW-Milwaukee, #2 Carthage College, and fellow upstarts #13 UW-Platteville before eventually fall 2-5 to #2 Carthage in a grand finals rematch at the end of the double-elimination bracket.
The F2 Overwatch team finished 2nd in both their NECC and NACE Varsity Plus divisions. Falcons League of Legends lost to esports powerhouse Illinois State University in their NECC divisional championship. The Smash Ultimate, Rocket League, and Rainbow 6 rosters also found top 4 finishes in their respective NACE and NECC divisions.
The Falcons kick off Spring 2024 competition in less than 2 weeks and will look to build on a successful and disruptive first season in both local and national competitions. Stay tuned for information on livestreams for those matches on UWRF Esports's Twitch and YouTube channels.
