BECKLEY, W.Va. -- WVU Tech Fortnite players Contrax (Colson Ford, Soph.) and DAcoop70 (Jacob Cooper, Soph.) began their 2023-24 NACE (National Association of Collegiate Esports) Starleague campaign on a high note Saturday afternoon in the Golden Bears' esports lab, earning a spot in the championship round for the third straight semester.
The second-year duo faced off in a builds format with 100 other players from 50 schools in Groups C and D during the first of three open weekly competitions with the hopes of earning a spot in the championship round that will take place on October 7. A top three group finish in any of the weekly opens auto-qualifies a duo for the championship round no matter how they finish the next two weeks.
Fortnite is a battle royale style combat game with up to 100 other players where the goal is to be the last person standing. In NACE's duos format, teams of two work together to survive as long as possible while trying to eliminate the other players. Weekly open events consist of four rounds of play with points awarded based on each finish, plus an extra point for each elimination, or kill.
The Golden Bears got off to a great start in round one with a second place finish and two eliminations. Contrax and DAcoop followed up that effort up with a second round 5th place finish and five eliminations. They'd only have one elimination in each of their final two rounds, but they wouldn't need them, as steady third and seventh place finishes would solidify a third place finish with 69 total points (60 placement, 9 eliminations) and that coveted auto-qualification. Second place finisher St. Clair College had 74 total points, while winner Oklahoma Christian University had 110 total points.
Overall nationally (including groups A and B), Contrax and DAcoop finished tied for fifth place out of 102 schools. The pair has now earned themselves a spot in the NACE Starleague Championship in every semester they've competed in during their young WVU Tech esports careers, this time being the third in a row. The performance follows up a win in the Coalpit Classic, a preseason in-person event at Concord University in which the Golden Bears duo defeated the Mountain Lions' pair in a two-on-two builds/box match in Concord's new esports arena. They will be back in action next week at 3:00 p.m. and will be streamed on Twitch.
