The Mount's Overwatch Esports team celebrates a semifinal victory.
Mount St. Mary’s University captured the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) Esports Championship in the Overwatch 2 competition.
The win earns the Mount an automatic qualifying bid to the Collegiate Esports Commissioners Cup, which will be held May 5-7, 2023, at the Esports Stadium in Arlington, Texas.
In only its first season competing in the MAAC, the no. 1 seeded Mountaineers defeated no. 2 seed Marist College, the three-time defending conference champion in the finals. It was a matchup of the teams with the two best regular season conference records, with the Mount’s 9-0 mark one better than Marist, who was 8-1.
Throughout the three-day tournament, the Mount did not lose a single game – otherwise known as a “map” – going 9-0.
Director of Esports Russel Hamer, Ph.D., who came to the Mount in 2019, was very pleased with how the team measured up against a tough opponent.
“So they're one of our stronger teams versus most for other teams. Some of our other teams have only been together for a year or two,” said Hamer. “So it's great to see that as we're able to build those teams over the long run, they can succeed, which gives me a lot of hope for the other teams that, you know, as those teams build out as we have more time to put them together, practice, and build a sort of team mentality that we'll see those other teams succeed just as well.”
The Mount’s Overwatch team consists of Darien Hundley (captain – senior – gamertag: Cozy), Pratosh Brahmbhatt (senior – gamertag: Toast), Jack Hohl (junior – gamertag: Captain Aquinas), Brady Klodaski (sophomore – gamertag: Zerial), and Dmitri Milholland (senior – gamertag: Moses). Hamer, along with Michael Hansen, coach the team.
The Mount’s impressive finals performance was led by Klodaski, who was named tournament MVP.
“I'm obviously really, really excited. All of us are super happy. The MVP thing, that is just a little cherry on top...but we're just happy to win because we were we were all nervous about it all,” said Klodaski, who hails from Red Bank, New Jersey.
Vice President and Dean of Students Levi Esses, Ed.D., supported the team while in attendance and is optimistic for the future.
“I am very proud of all of our Esports teams. I am very happy for our Overwatch team and proud of their MAAC championship,” said Esses. “I am excited to watch them in the National Championships in Arlington and watch our Esports program grow in the future.”
After a first-round bye, the road to the championship for the Mount started with a game against Canisius in the quarterfinals. With a strong showing from player of the game Hundley, the team advanced to the semifinals, blanking Canisius 3-0. Mount then took care of Quinnipiac rather quickly to earn a spot in the finals, the end result being 3-0, with Klodaski playing a particularly strong series.
Overall, the Mount competed in four contests, which also included Valorant, Super Smash Bros. Ultimate, and Rocket League. In the Valorant competition, the Mount defeated Fairfield in the quarterfinals to advance for a semifinal matchup with Quinnipiac, but fell one game short of reaching the finals. It was only their first year fielding a Valorant team.
In Rocket League they could not get through the quarterfinals, as they were taken down by Siena College, and in the Super Smash Bros. Ultimate competition, they were defeated by Rider University in a first-round matchup.
Follow the Mount’s social channels on Instagram @mountstmarysu and Twitter @MSMU and Mount Esports on Instagram at @mountesports.