VALORANT: OC Esports Secures Assertive Win in NACE Varsity Premiere Finals
The NACE Varsity Premiere Grand Finals match saw undefeated fifth seed St. Clair Saints Varsity taking a loss against third seed OC Esports. Both teams had a strong showing leading up to the finals, with St. Clair Saints even taking down the collegiate powerhouse that is Northwood.
Here’s a look back at the final match.
OC Esports Win in Commanding Fashion
The first game on Pearl began with OC Esports winning the pistol round and eventually found an eight-win streak on attack, leading to a 10-2 scoreline at the half.
After the side swap, St. Clair Saints looked to make a comeback after winning their pistol round, but couldn’t close the win deficit as OC Esports’ Instxnct lead the lobby with 22 kills at the end of game one and a final score of 13-7.
Game two found OC Esports choosing Ascent as their map pick, and begins yet again with a dominant eight-win streak on their attack. St. Clair Saints, however, close out the half with a double flawless as they tried to keep themselves alive in the final rounds of the series.
After St. Clair Saints found their footing at the end of round one, they switch sides and win their attacking pistol round. Unfortunately, this is the last win they will get, as OC Esports take the next round with ENTRI on Jett finding three kills with the Sheriff to shut down St. Clair Saints’ momentum and their economy. OC Esports eventually rode this momentum into a commanding 13-3 final score to take the victory and the tournament.
OC Esports made their run through the bracket only dropping one round in the quarterfinals against sixth seed Mizzou Esports, before that only losing a game due to forfeit in the regular season. After second seed Blinn Blue, their potentially most difficult match, forfeited in the quarterfinals it was a straight shot to finals.
With such a powerful showing from OC Esports, a lot comes from the amazing teamwork from the players like eli, their in-game leader for the most part.
“For my IGL-ing, glyph helps me a lot,” OC Esports’ Elias "yiinel" Soto said when asked about the team’s communication, “as him on sentinel he gets a lot of information for us and he helps me co-IGL.”
Our OC Valorant roster has qualified for the CVAL Nationals!@EntriVal_ @47GLYPH @Instxnctxz @saintvalorant @yiinel_ #TalonsUp #OCWIN pic.twitter.com/4yxarWqG8v
— OC Esports (@OCesports_) March 3, 2023
Going into what would be the final map of the series, OC Esports all knew how they were going to close out the series. “On Ascent, I took over because it’s more of my map, but the vibes were all calm and we all knew what to do. On Ascent, I knew exactly what I wanted to do, so it was just another day in the office for me.”
Bracket Play Results
Round of 16
- #1 Northwood vs. #16 Lancer Gaming 2-0
- #8 SBU RED vs. #9 Toronto Metropolitan University Blue 2-0
- #4 FIU Varsity vs. #13 IVC Esports Valorant 2-1
- #5 St. Clair Saints Varsity vs. #12 Boise State 2-0
- #2 Blinn Blue vs. #15 Missouri State Bears VAL 2-0
- #7 WVU Blue vs. #10 KSU Gold 2-0
- #3 OC Esports Valorant vs. #14 UMD Premier 2-0
- #6 Mizzou Esports Val vs. #11 Rochester University Valorant Gray 2-0
Quarterfinals
- #1 Northwood vs. #8 SBU RED 2-0
- #4 FIU Varsity vs. #5 St. Clair Saints Varsity 1-2
- #2 Blinn Blue vs. #7 WVU Blue (Blinn Forfeit)
- #3 OC Esports Valorant vs. #6 Mizzou Esports Val 2-1
Semifinals
- #1 Northwood vs. #5 St. Clair Saints Varsity 1-2
- #7 WVU Blue vs. #3 OC Esports Valorant 0-2
Grand Finals
- #5 St. Clair Saints Varsity vs. #3 OC Esports Valorant 0-2
Written by Andy Haggard
This article was created as part of an internship collaboration with NACE
The NACE Internship Program is a collaboration between NACE and Esports Illustrated, designed to give students a first look at the wonderful world of esports journalism. Students are hand-selected by the NACE Council overseeing the project. Each student works in tandem with their chosen group to create interesting stories and riveting recaps each week throughout the internship term. Current NACE x ESI Interns: Coordinator Mathew Taylor Assistant Coordinator Thomas McDonald Media Rep David Hunter Writer Andy Haggard Writer Gabrielle DeSena Coordinator Robert "Rob" Gaddy Assistant Coordinator Matthew Hartford Writer Brooks Valdez Media Rep Mitchell McKittrick The National Association of Collegiate Esports (NACE) is a nonprofit membership association organized by and on behalf of our member institutions. Together, our members are developing the structure and tools needed to advance collegiate esports in the varsity space. We are collaborating to lay the groundwork in areas such as: Eligibility, Path to Graduation, and Competition & Scholarships. NACE is the largest member association of varsity esports programs at colleges and universities across the U.S.