Esports

In its inaugural year, the Forester Esports Overwatch team splashed onto the scene this spring to be deemed the Navigators Division: National Runner-Up at the NECC National Tournament. Huntington went 2-1 over the course of the three-day tourney, winning eight of 14 maps.

The road to the big stage included going 3-0 in divisional playoff action, where HU won all but one of 11 maps to earn the title of Navigators Yellow: Grand Finals Champion.

The nine-week regular season saw the Forester squad go undefeated at 9-0, which included winning 27 of 32 maps. When all was said and done, HU claimed a 14-1 record, having practiced more than 100 hours throughout the spring semester.

NOTABLES:
MAPS: A map is the physical location where a match is held between the two competitors/teams. Each map, also referred to as a level, has a different location, layout, and ambiance, but the objective of the game does not change. Each map garners different strategies that both the offense and defense come up with.

OVERWATCH: HU’s video game of choice is Overwatch, a 2016 team-based multiplayer first-person shooter game developed and published by Blizzard Entertainment. Overwatch assigns players into two teams of six, with each player selecting from a large roster of characters, known as “heroes,” with unique abilities and powers. The goal is to put together the right crew to accomplish the multiple objectives within a given map. The two goals are to defend specific parts of the map for a certain amount of time while also protecting payloads (important materials that must safely reach their destination).

OVERWATCH TEAM MEMBERS: Team Captain Zachariah Lail (ProZach), Tyler Brown (TBrain), David Dowling (XMychal), Josiah Gold (Jynjer), Derek Harper (TrashBoat), Ericka Whitman (Doxic), Alternate Joshua Thomas (MelodicCrow)

MVP (COMMENTATOR DESIGNATIONS): Week 1 vs. Greenville – ProZach & Doxic; Week 3 vs. Arcadia – ProZach; Grand Finals – Doxic; NECC Nationals Semi-Finals – TBrain

NECC: The National Esports Collegiate Conference (NECC) began sponsoring esports in the fall of 2020. The conference currently sponsors both regular season competition and championships to over 100 colleges and universities throughout the country.

ADDITIONAL HU TEAMS: The Foresters also have two teams that play Rocket League and Super Smash Bros. Ultimate. These squads competed in the Great Lakes Esports Conference (GLEC) this year.