BECKLEY, W.Va. — WVU Tech esports earned its second ECAC Super Smash Bros. Ultimate victory of the season and a third-place finish in Teamfight Tactics during competition Oct. 16-19.
Sophomore Ralph Aaron Etaba Ateba led the Golden Bears' sweep of SUNY Poly Blue, taking 15 stocks across two games, while junior Triston Stover placed third with 13 points in Teamfight Tactics. Tech also faced Ball State University in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate and Conestoga College in EA Sports FC 26.
Super Smash Bros. Ultimate
WVU Tech split two ECAC Super Smash Bros. Ultimate matches, sweeping SUNY Poly Blue 2-0 on Friday, Oct. 16, before falling 2-1 to Ball State University on Monday, Oct. 19.
Against SUNY Poly, the Golden Bears opened with a 12-7 victory in stocks before completing the sweep with a 12-9 win in Game 2.
Sophomore Ralph Aaron Etaba Ateba (Wreck) led Tech with 15 stocks taken while competing as Ken. Ateba accounted for 10 stocks in the opening game before adding five in the finale.
Sophomore Tyler Vines (Tytanium) contributed four stocks in Game 2 while playing R.O.B. Junior Mark Imbing (Markieblue) added two stocks with Wii Fit Trainer.
Junior Evan Ingram (Dunks) took two stocks across the series, competing as Donkey Kong and Falco, while junior Rylan Ellison (RyeBread) contributed one stock with Joker in the opening game.
The sweep gave WVU Tech its second ECAC victory of the season, following a 2-0 win over Heidelberg SSBU Orange on Oct. 5.
Tech returned Monday against Ball State Red, taking the opening game 12-8 before Ball State answered with a 12-6 victory in Game 2.
The deciding game was settled by one stock, with Ball State edging the Golden Bears 12-11 to secure the series.
Ateba again led WVU Tech, taking 13 stocks across the three games while competing as Ken and Terry. He recorded five stocks in both the opening game and the deciding game.
Vines followed with 10 stocks across the series while playing R.O.B., including five in Game 1 and four in Game 3.
Ingram contributed three stocks while competing as Wario and Falco. Ellison added two stocks with Joker in the deciding game, while Imbing recorded one with Wii Fit Trainer in Game 2.
Across the two matches, Ateba took 28 stocks in five games, while Vines contributed 14.
WVU Tech moved to 2-3 in ECAC Super Smash Bros. Ultimate competition.
Teamfight Tactics
Junior Triston Stover (Sammy36) earned his second third-place finish of the season in ECAC Teamfight Tactics competition Monday, Oct. 19.
Stover opened Round 5 of Division D competition with a second-place finish in Game 1 before taking third in Game 2.
He finished third overall with 13 points, matching the point totals of two Augustana College competitors who occupied the top two positions in the standings.
The result marked Stover's fourth top-four finish through five competitions. He previously placed second with 13 points Sept. 21, third with 10 points Sept. 28, fourth Oct. 5 and sixth Oct. 12.
EA Sports FC 26
Sophomore Luca Koenig (Otto132708) suffered his first defeat of the ECAC EA Sports FC 26 season Monday, Oct. 19, falling 2-0 to Conestoga College's mshelia.
Conestoga took the opening game 10-2 before securing the series with a 10-4 victory in Game 2.
Koenig entered the matchup unbeaten after victories over D'Youville University, Hill College and New England Institute of Technology.
The result moved Koenig to 3-1 through four matches.
What's Next
WVU Tech returns to competition Tuesday, Oct. 20, with four events at the Golden Bear Esports Lab.
The unbeaten NECC Super Smash Bros. Ultimate team faces Thomas College at 7:30 p.m. Seniors Ryan Hayden and Keith Karwacki compete in Week 5 of Fortnite Zero Build Duos at 8 p.m., while Ralph Aaron Etaba Ateba faces SUNY Morrisville's itbelikethat in Street Fighter 6 at the same time. Marvel Rivals takes on PNW Gold at 8:30 p.m.
Rainbow Six Siege looks to remain unbeaten Wednesday, Oct. 21, when the Golden Bears face Marietta College at 7 p.m.
On Thursday, Oct. 22, Rocket League meets SUNY Empire Elites RL Yellow at 8 p.m. Sophomores William Vila and Nathan Vecellio return for Week 5 of Fortnite Builds Duos, along with junior Brayden Hanshew and fifth-year Karl Hoppe. Both pairings are scheduled to compete at 8 p.m.
Friday, Oct. 23, features Overwatch against Illini Esports Blue and the ECAC Fortnite Zero Build Solo finals with Duff. Both competitions are scheduled for 8 p.m.
All events are scheduled for the Golden Bear Esports Lab in Beckley.
