It’s been just over a week since our last playoff update, but in collegiate esports time that might as well be forever! We have more updates for you here – both Rainbow Six and Hearthstone teams have playoffs action in the coming weeks.
First, our Call of Duty team – the Bulldogs competed in the 2021 CCL Playoffs and were kicked down into the lower bracket with a loss to eventual champions University of Ottawa Gold before an incredibly close, reverse-sweep loss to Full Sail University to end the playoff run. The team finished in the top 32 of a 150+ team field to cap an impressive season for Butler, and a defining collegiate career for seniors Jack “Vortex” Glynn, Henry “Sirerin” Johnston, and Ryan “SlashinKnives” ter Molen.
When we last checked in with Rainbow Six, the Dawgs were headed into the NECC semifinals to compete for the chance at a Challengers league title to cap the first winning season, let alone an undefeated season, for this title in program history. On Tuesday night, #1 Butler (9-0) found the win against #4 Concordia University Wisconsin (6-3) to set up a winner-take-all finals match on Sunday afternoon against #2 SUNY Oswego (8-1).
And finally, a new face on the playoff scene – after an excellent regular season, Butler’s Hearthstone team have punched their ticket to playoffs! The Bulldogs went 7-2 in the Swiss rounds earlier this semester, enough to finish #10 in the open division standings (and #4 out of schools without a varsity program), and have earned a favorable seed in the upcoming double-elimination playoff bracket. This has been another historic semester for Butler, and some credit has to go to faculty coach, Dr. Ankur Gupta, a professor of computer science in Butler’s College of Liberal Arts and Sciences. “Gupta’s been great,” says junior psychology & computer science major and team captain Henry “SwankyTiger” Bell. “We were all really busy so we didn’t actually get the chance to meet up and talk very often, but I think that Gupta is really good at being ahead of the meta and finding what’s going to be broken before everybody else does.” Playoffs in May will be an excellent measure of how far ahead of the meta the Bulldogs really are.
Watch #ButlerR6 take on SUNY Oswego live at 5pm this Sunday, April 25, at twitch.tv/necc_esports in the grand finals match. #ButlerHS will compete in the Activision-Blizzard Collegiate tournament starting on Saturday, May 8 at 1pm.
