Northeastern University Esports
| Northeastern Huskies Esports | |
|---|---|
| University | Northeastern University |
| Association | NACE, ECS |
| Athletic director | Zachary Allor |
| Location | Boston, Massachusetts |
| First year | 2017 |
| Sports | 13 |
| Other arenas | SquashBusters |
| Mascot | Paws |
| Colors | Red, Black, and Gold |
| Website | esports |
The Northeastern University Esports Program is the collection of varsity and club level esports teams competing at the university. The school's teams compete in NACE, CLOL, Faceit Collegiate, AVGL, CCL, ESC, and several other leagues for their respective games. As of 2022, there were 10 games represented with 5 varsity teams and 22 teams competing as club sports. In contrast to the club sports teams, the varsity teams receive athletic scholarships, advanced class registration, and access to the varsity sports gym.[1]
History
The first steps towards an official esports program at the university began in 2016 with the creation of the NEUES discord.[2] It was founded by JJ "Psyclop" with the goal of consolidating the various, fractured esports clubs on campus under a single banner. It first received official recognition in the fall of 2017 when the university designated a lab to be used as a competition room in Ryder Hall. In 2018 an official gaming room would be constructed in a gym on campus, SquashBusters, and the school met to begin talks about upgrading teams to varsity. The first varsity teams were created in the spring of 2020 with Overwatch, League of Legends, Rocket League, and Hearthstone all being upgraded to the varsity level with Valorant joining them in Fall 2022.[3]
Sports sponsored
Varsity Esports
Hearthstone
Hearthstone has been competing since spring 2018. Since starting, the Hearthstone teams have been the #1 team in the nation several times and had a great deal of success in their leagues. The teams primarily compete in Blizzard's proprietary league, formerly known as Tespa. The Varsity team is coached by Kyle "malachamavet" and the program is managed by game chair Jason "mrbaluga11".
Overwatch
The Overwatch team has had massive success since its founding in 2016, winning several titles including the Boston Uprising Cup.[4] This success led it to be one of the 4 titles promoted to varsity status. It is currently coached by Northeastern Alumni, Shyam "Shyam" Venkatramani and managed by game chair Kateryna "Danietta" Dzhyndzhyrysta.
Controversies
The Overwatch program was subject to controversy in early 2020 with the forced ousting of the A team captain and game chair Matt "M4tt" Lucido.[5] Lucido was accused of being disruptive and harassing another school's players during an Overwatch C team match he was spectating. The opponents, BU Overwatch, sent Northeastern Athletics statements alleging him of these things and following this, Matt was barred from competing in Northeastern Club sports. However, this prompted a protest by the remaining 5 players of the OW A team who all vowed to quit if he was not reinstated, claiming the BU players had fabricated and/or played up the event to harm Lucido. The school maintained its position and the A team disbanded leading to the B team to be promoted. Shortly after this, the Overwatch program would officially receive varsity status.
League of Legends
Northeastern League of Legends is the newest program of the varsity esports, first competing in the fall of 2018. The League teams compete in UAL, CLOL, and ECS primarily with other invitations and smaller tournaments in supplement. The varsity team is coached by Nikita "UnderagedRat" Bair, Vaughn "Firelight", and Patrick "pappybuck", and are managed by game chair Jon "Aloneus."
Rocket League
The Rocket League teams first formed in 2017 and soon after achieved high levels of success with the 'A team' becoming the first ever national collegiate Rocket League champions.[6] The teams primarily compete in AVGL, CRL, ECS, and NACE. Notable players produced from the team include: Floms who played for the team from 2017-2021.[7] The varsity team is coached by Nick "FlowStateGG" and managed by game chair Alex "Lightnin" Ma.
Valorant
Valorant is the newest of the varsity esports offered by Northeastern, with its initial starting around the same time as the game's launch in fall 2020. Fall 2022 will be its first semester as a varsity esport. Many of its players esports career playing began by playing on the school's CSGO teams and switching games in the past 2 years. The teams have obtained success in multiple tournaments placing high and, at one point, became the national NACE Champions.[8] Like the CSGO teams, the primary leagues the Valorant team has competed in have been NACE and Faceit. However, Riot Games, the game's developer, recently announced their own league which will likely take over as the sole competitive host.[9] The teams are currently managed by game chair Alec "Snow".
Club Esports
Counter Strike Global Offensive
Northeastern's Counter Strike program is the oldest of the non-varsity esports, first competing in the fall of 2017. It routinely has placed in the top 32 collegiate teams with its highest success being in the top 8 in the spring 2022 season.[11] The CSGO teams primarily compete in Faceit Collegiate and NACE. The team's main rival is the University of Connecticut going so far as to travel and compete in a grudge match on UConn's campus. The LAN competition between the 2 took place in 2019 in which Northeastern won 2-1.[10] Notable players include: Tyler 'chevyus' Royere who played for the program from 2018-2022.[12] The teams are currently managed by game chair Ethan "Ace of Losers" Rush.
Call of Duty
Northeastern's Call of Duty teams are the most recent addition to the club sports line up, beginning their history in Spring 2022. Its success has been limited in its brief history, ending its inaugural CCL season 5-5 and failing to make playoffs. Unlike many of the other programs, it only has one team and as a result there is no current game chair.
Madden
The Madden team at Northeastern is the smallest program, made up of only 1 player. Jake "Jwall" was immediately given club sports recognition following his National Championship win in Spring 2021.[13] The primary league for competition is LevelNext. The Madden program is managed by the sole player without the official title of Game Chair.
Rainbow Six Siege
Rainbow Six Siege made its debut into the Northeastern esports program in the fall of 2019. Since its inception it has gone far in several tournaments going far into playoffs in CR6 for several years and taking 1st place in the 2020 Battle for Bama tournament. The teams compete in the CR6 and Faceit leagues. The game is managed by current game chair Padraic "Sp.Inquisition."
Former Esports
Over the years a number of other esports have joined and left the program. The following is a list of titles who were previously represented under the Northeastern Banner.
| Game Title |
|---|
| Dota 2 |
| Fortnite |
| Fifa |
| Heroes of the Storm |
| Magic the Gathering |
| Smite |
| Super Smash Bros: Melee |
| Super Smash Bros: Ultimate |
References
This article "Northeastern University Esports" is from Wikipedia. The list of its authors can be seen in its historical and/or the page Edithistory:Northeastern University Esports. Articles copied from Draft Namespace on Wikipedia could be seen on the Draft Namespace of Wikipedia and not main one.
- ↑ "Esports Titles". Northeastern University Athletics. Retrieved 2022-08-22.
- ↑ "Discord - A New Way to Chat with Friends & Communities". Discord. Retrieved 2022-08-22.
- ↑ "Northeastern Elevates Esports to Varsity Program". Northeastern University Athletics. Retrieved 2022-08-22.
- ↑ "Overwatch: Northeastern University win Boston Uprising's Collegiate Cup Championship". estnn.com. Retrieved 2022-08-22.
- ↑ "Discord - A New Way to Chat with Friends & Communities". Discord. Retrieved 2022-08-22.
- ↑ Kornwitz, Jason (2017-12-14). "Teamwork propels Northeastern to victory in Collegiate Rocket League Championship". News @ Northeastern. Retrieved 2022-08-22.
- ↑ "Floms". Liquipedia Rocket League Wiki. Retrieved 2022-08-22.
- ↑ "Northeastern Valorant Captures NACE Championship". November 17, 2020.
- ↑ Robertson, Scott (2022-07-18). "Inaugural college VALORANT season to kick off in 2022, culminating in 2023 championship on LAN". Dot Esports. Retrieved 2022-08-22.
- ↑ 10.0 10.1 "https://twitter.com/dr_rush_/status/1120506955548831744". Twitter. Retrieved 2022-08-22. External link in
|title=(help) - ↑ "FACEIT Collegiate Spring 2022: North America". Liquipedia Counter-Strike Wiki. Retrieved 2022-08-22.
- ↑ "Tyler 'chevyus' Royere". HLTV.org. Retrieved 2022-08-22.
- ↑ Chirco, Vito. "Jacob Wallack Wins Madden Title Representing Lions". Sports Illustrated Detroit Lions News, Analysis and More. Retrieved 2022-08-22.
