Beckley, W.Va. - The WVU Tech Rainbow Six Siege team defeated Buena Vista University in a late-night brawl Tuesday, advancing to the second round of the National Esports Collegiate Conference (NECC), Navigators B division playoffs by a score of 2-1.  

Golden Bear operators Maniacal (Caleb Adkins, Sr.), Hilbert (Patrick Hilbert, Fr.), Ploxski (Jacob Bennett, Soph.), TheAbaW (Tamer Abdelgelil, Jr.) and Stretch (Elijah Ray Northrop, Fr.) entered their first ever playoff match together as underdogs, playing as the number six seed out of eight teams in the bracket, against the number three seeded Beavers.  

Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six Siege, developed by Ubisoft, is a tactical first-person shooter where a heavy emphasis is placed on environmental destruction and player cooperation. Teams will take turns attacking a location to defuse a bomb, or placing and defending a bomb location within building complexes. There are numerous ways players can navigate through their environments, from blasting through walls, floors and roofs to climbing up and repelling down buildings from the outside. Drones, security cameras and other technology can be accessed to scout locations. In the NECC format, each game consists of 12 three-minute rounds, switching between defending and attacking after six rounds. The first team to win seven rounds takes the game. Teams then play a best-of-three game series to determine the overall match winner. 

In game one, the Golden Bears would begin as the defending team on the map Club House. Tech would split the opening series of rounds at an even 3-3 as they moved into attack. But the Beavers' defense would stop every WVU Tech attempt to cruise to a 7-3 game win. Operator Stretch was WVU Tech's top player in the game with a match score of 2,788, nine kills, 10 deaths and four assists.  

WVU Tech entered game two as the attackers on Chalet, with the nerves of game one somewhat shaken off. They'd get through the Buena Vista defense to grab a 1-0 lead but finished the series down 4-2. The Golden Bears began their defensive stand with a stop, bringing the score back to 4-3 before the Beavers got through to extend their lead back out to 5-3. It was here that WVU Tech began to find their grit. Operator Stretch would win a one versus two player head to head duel to singlehandedly secure round nine, and the squad carried that momentum to a 5-5 tie, then a 6-5 lead to get to match point. But Buena Vista would stop the Golden Bears surge with a round 12 win to send the game into overtime. WVU Tech stayed focused and kept working, trading rounds with the Beavers to send the game to a decisive round 15. Playing defense for that round, the Golden Bears held and took the game 8-7, tying the match at 1-1. Operator Stretch was again the top player for WVU Tech with a match score of 6,160, 13 kills, 10 deaths and five assists.  

Game three would take place on the map Kafe Donstoyevsky, with WVU Tech on the attack. Buena Vista would stop the Golden Bears' first two attempts to take a 2-0 lead, but WVU Tech responded with wins in rounds three and four to tie the game at 2-2. The Beavers would win their final defensive rounds to get back out to a 4-2 lead. Switching into their defensive stand, WVU Tech would hold in rounds seven and eight, tying the game at 4-4 with the entire match still up for grabs. As round five played out, operator Ploxski found himself as one of just two friendlies still standing and the closest to a far-away enemy bomb diffuser, manned by BVU's last standing player. Ploxski rushed in to end the threat just before time expired to take the round and a 5-4 lead for the Golden Bears, giving the team a huge jolt of energy. They wouldn't look back, holding out for a 7-4 game three win and a tough-as-nails 2-1 upset win. For a third straight game operator Stretch was tops for Tech, turning in a match score of 5,745, 14 kills, seven deaths and three assists.

The No. 6-seed Golden Bears move on to face the No. 7-seed Hastings Broncos in the NECC's second round, who also won their round one game in upset fashion over the No. 2-seed Concordia Chicago University by a score of 2-1. The match takes place after Thanksgiving break on November 28 at 8:00 p.m. The action will be streamed live on Twitch (WVUTechGoldenBears).