Pride Esports touts success during in-person competition

DUBUQUE, Iowa – Nearing the completion of most of their spring competition, the Clarke University Esports team was able to have multiple members of their various titles compete at in-person collegiate or professional events during the spring semester.

The Pride Valorant squad continued their spring season campaign as the team made their LAN debut on March 10th, attending the Morningside Invitational hosted by Morningside University in Sioux City, Iowa.

Originally slated to take place over two days, the event unfortunately experienced technical difficulties at the venue, requiring the cancellation of the first day. Strong performances across the board by the team consisting of Spencer Cavaco, Tawan Khwanthongyim, Graciela Perez, Matt Archer, and Muhammad Ali saw the Pride find success at their first in-person competition.

After taking their first loss to Briar Cliff the night before, the Pride started their morning off just a bit slow against Morningside on their way to an overtime win. The Pride used that first match of the day to improve their performance in their remaining matches, picking up solid wins against Buena Vista University, Cornell College, Simpson College, and Wayne State College.

The Pride would then face off against Simpson College again in the semi-finals, where the team was able to once again pick up another victory to send them to the finals. In the championships, the Pride had their rematch against Briar Cliff. After coming out strong and taking the first map victory, Briar Cliff answered right back and closed out a 1-2 win, having Clarke place as the runner-up.

Clarke's Madden and FIFA competitors also had in-person events during the spring that saw James Vandun and Daniel Mycroft continue their Madden seasons while Bruno Albino continued his eMLS competition.

Albino continued his rookie eMLS season, as he flew out to Austin, Texas to compete in the eMLS Cup Last Chance Qualifier. After finishing just one spot shy of auto-qualifying for the eMLS Cup by finishing in 12th place between the two League Series Qualifiers, Albino came into the last chance qualifier as the No. 1 seed.

He was placed in Group A with three other teams, only needing to be in the top two to make it to the playoff stage. Albino topped his group, qualified for the playoffs, and made his way to the finals, playing against the Philadelphia Union. Albino was unable to come back from an earlier deficit, losing the final match and falling short of qualifying for the eMLS Cup, ending his rookie season as the Portland Timbers representative.

Vandun also competed in a community Madden tournament in Sioux City traveling with the Valorant team, and was able to come away with the championship, winning the Pride their first Madden trophy and LAN championship.

Mycroft returned to action, as he competed in the Muthead League Season 10 against some of the biggest names from the Madden Championship Series season. After the eight-week regular season concluded, Mycroft finished as the first place team across the east and west groups of the National Conference, giving him a first round bye into the semi-finals.

Mycroft made quick work of his opponent in the semi-finals, taking him all the way to the championship match. After a touchdown in the fourth quarter with four seconds left, Mycroft's opponent decided to go for two to attempt to guarantee his victory and not send the match into overtime. With a strong defensive play, Mycroft was able to intercept as pass attempted and return it all the way with a 28-27 victory, securing himself the Season 10 championship.

Clarke Esports will conclude their spring season with a variety of teams competing in collegiate post season events over the coming weeks.