HENNIKER, N.H. - The New England College eSports season is approaching playoff time as the program begins to wrap up their Spring schedule.
The 'Grims are sending three different teams to the National Esports Collegiate Conference (NECC) playoffs which began this past week and will progress into the month of April.
The Rainbow Six Siege team, who earned the top seed in Division IX after an undefeated 7-0 regular season, await their matchup in the quarterfinals. They conceded just one map round to Holy Cross on February 5th but otherwise beat their opponents by a combined score of 14-1 for a +13-map differential. Streaming each Wednesday night, the team will look to remain undefeated with a deep playoff run starting against New Mexico State University tonight at 8:00 PM in the quarterfinals.
The NEC Valorant squad, coming off of winning the Fall NECC title in December and the Spring title last April, also earned the #1 seed in Division VII. The team went 6-1 on the season and in the quarterfinal round defeated Widener University on Monday night, 2-1. The 'Grims are positioned to face Goldey-Beacom College next Monday, March 31st at 8:00 PM.
The program's third playoff team is League of Legends who rode a 6-1 regular season record to the #2 seed in Division VIII. On March 25th, NEC swept the University of Florida, 2-0, to eliminate the Gators. The team continues its playoff run each Tuesday night streaming on Twitch with the semifinals coming on Tuesday, April 1st against Robert Morris at 8:00 PM.
Competing as part of the Eastern College Athletic Conference (ECAC) eSports, the Pilgrims are also sending three teams, made up of either individuals or teams of two, to postseason action. William Schryver has qualified for the playoffs in Hearthstone after a 5-2 season. He is set to face off against Endicott College on Thursday. Orion Essex led the NBA 2K efforts with a 5-2 individual record and will meet SUNY Buffalo State on Tuesday, April 1st. The Fortnite Zero Build duo of Sydney Bucci and Cayden Pelletier fought valiantly but saw a playoff exit on Tuesday evening.
Falling short of the playoffs was the Smash team with a 2-5 record, Call of Duty as Blue went 2-5 and Red 4-3, Fortnite Builds, and Fortnite Zero Builds Teams Red, Blue, and Grey. NBA 2K's Nate Femmer fell just short with a 4-3 record while Hearthstone's ZyAnnDriyah Johnson went 2-5.
NEC eSports streams every competition on Twitch starting at 8:00 PM at NECesports.
For continuing coverage of New England College Athletics, visit athletics.nec.edu and follow the Pilgrims on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.
