Fall NACE Varsity's Strongest Contenders
Previously in the NACE Varsity Premier for VALORANT, the finals saw the ever-dominant Northwood being knocked out by fifth-seed St. Clair Saints in the semifinals. Later on in the grand finals, OC Esports took the win in commanding fashion to put themselves on the radar for top teams.
Since the last NACE tournament back in April, a few tournaments have concluded with the results likely showing how the participating teams will perform in the coming Fall season.
In no particular order, let’s look at the results coming into the next NACE Varsity Premiere season.
The Titanic Northwood Esports
This small university in Michigan has a strong argument for the best collegiate esports program in North America. From Rocket League to VALORANT and Overwatch, Northwood Esports can be found dominating a majority of the games they field a roster for.
Northwood began their 2023 record with a first-place finish against Mizzou Esports, who they then proceeded to beat two more times in two different grand finals. Their most recent win was a close match against a consistent top-three team, Winthrop University.
Since their big win at Red Bull Campus Clutch at the end of 2022, Northwood’s dominance continued throughout the first half of 2023 besides one slip-up against St. Clair Saints. If you would bet on a team to win the coming season, a safe pick would be Northwood.
Blinn Blue’s Second Chance
With some top teams such as Winthrop and Fisher playing in the separate Open bracket, this leaves a closer competition between the underdogs. Blinn Blue is a solid team that had to forfeit their match in the previous Varsity season without the chance to face the eventual winners, OC Esports.
Of the southern collegiate teams, OC Esports and Blinn Blue are the two best in the region by a decent margin. In the official collegiate VALORANT tournaments, they secured a first, second and third-place finish in the regional tournaments before being knocked out of the championship in the loser's quarterfinals.
Blinn Blue aren’t the favorites to win, but the team could easily take at least a third or fourth-place finish in the coming season, provided they don’t have to forfeit again.
OC Esports Going Back to Back
Starting off the year strong was OC Esports, finding success in their region as well as winning the previous Varsity season against St. Clair Saints, but their streak did not last. They were taken out early in the College VALORANT Championship by Winthrop after beating Carleton Ravens, another remarkable team, in the first round.
Despite a poor placing in the recent big collegiate tournament, OC Esports should still be a great bet for a second or even first-place finish, especially after proving that they could beat Blinn Blue in the College VALORANT regionals.
With Winthrop’s presence in the upcoming Varsity season being gone, there is a great chance for OC Esports to become the two-time, back-to-back NACE champions.
St. Clair Saints Varsity Staying Strong
The St. Clair Saints had a similar time in the College VALORANT Championship as OC Esports, being taken out early on by a strong team who happens to not be in the Varsity bracket for NACE.
It would be an injustice to the players and staff of St. Clair Saints to not mention their victory against Northwood in the semifinals of the previous Varsity season. Whatever the circumstances surrounding that match was, they won it fair and square.
One advantage for St. Clair Saints is their proximity to Northwood region-wise, meaning that any regional tournaments would get them the best on-stage practice any team could ask for. Maybe this proximity to the top dog was what let them take the victory in the previous season, but who knows.
Whether St. Clair can repeat their victory against Northwood, if OC Esports can find their back-to-back NACE titles or if Northwood continues their win streak it’ll be a good day for collegiate VALORANT once the matches start in September.
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.