ESC Spring 2023 Overwatch Playoff Preview: Four schools aim for a trophy

It is time for the Esports Collegiate Conference (ESC) Spring 2023 Overwatch 2 Esports Championship presented by Nelnet Bank. Starting on April 28, four teams will be duking it out in the Semifinals at a shot to play in the ESC Championship on Saturday April 29th. The winner of the ESC Overwatch 2 Championship will punch their ticket to compete in the Collegiate Esports Commissioners Cup in Arlington, Texas happening May 5-7. 

Rivalries, a rematch of last year's championship, programs seeking their first ESC title, and others looking to add another ESC title to their trophy case can all be found this postseason. Ball State University, Miami University of Ohio, Northeastern University, and Ohio University have played out an 11 week round robin regular season. All four schools have made it through the best of seven Quarterfinal action on April 18. It has all come down to this final week of postseason play. 

Nelnet Bank is thrilled to be supporting the ESC Overwatch 2 Championship event this year and looks forward to watching the action play out. Nelnet Bank knows the collegiate esport community works tirelessly to bring opportunities to students as they develop and prepare for their futures.

The work of students, teams, and event coordinators doesn’t go unnoticed. The team at Nelnet Bank wishes the teams, players, and everyone else the best of luck as the tournament comes to a crescendo this weekend!

You can find all of the action this Friday and Saturday on the official ESC Twitch account. Check in next week for a recap on all the action that takes place. Find out who will be adding the 2022-2023 ESC Overwatch 2 Championship to their trophy case.

The RedHawks versus the Huskies. A rematch of last year's championship in the Semifinals!? Northeastern University (10-2) are looking to add another Overwatch ESC title to their resume after last year's win against Miami University in the ESC 2022 Overwatch Championship. Miami University (11-1) on the other hand is looking to also add their second ESC Overwatch Championship. They look to get revenge from not only last year's championship match but from the first time these teams met this year in the regular season.

These teams have not seen each other since Week 1 of the regular season. Northeastern was able to hand Miami their only loss of the year in a 3-0 sweeping fashion. While Northeastern can feel comfortable knowing that they have beaten them before, Miami freshman DPS Lucas “skrtle” Sneller believes that people should look at the previous match “with a grain of salt”. The match happened so early on in the season that both of these teams have grown beyond that first week.

Miami has been on a tear since that Week 1 loss to Northeastern and was able to beat both Ball State and Ohio in the regular season. This gave the RedHawks the number two seed heading into the postseason. In the Quarterfinal they met up against the University at Buffalo. The RedHawks were able to move past them after a 4-1 victory. 

On the other hand, Northeastern took a tough 3-2 loss to end the regular season against Ohio. This put them up against Western Michigan in the Quarterfinals. The Huskies swept Western Michigan 4-0 but the Broncos managed to play the series close in many of the maps. Last year's champions look to solidify their second ESC Overwatch Championship this week.

With a win they would give Miami another loss for the year and end their season. A championship for Northeastern will also make them the Champions of the Spring after their League of Legends team also won the Spring 2023 ESC League of Legends Championship.

The Cardinals versus the Bobcats. Both universities are looking to get their first Overwatch championship and first ESC championship overall this week. Ball State University (11-1) look to continue their dominance heading into the postseason. Their only loss came to Miami University in a close 3-2 series in Week 7 of the regular season. Ohio University (10-2) is seeking revenge after they lost to Ball State in Week 6 0-3. Their other loss was to Miami in Week 9 with a close 1-3 map count. 

Ohio University is still coming off a tremendous momentum swing after their 3-2 win against Northeastern in their final regular season match. That momentum certainly continued as the team went into their Quarterfinal match. The Bobcats swept fellow Ohio school Kent State University 4-0 in map count to move onto the Semifinals. Now the team faces off against one of their hardest matchups all season. 

Ball State has proven to be a top contender for the title all season. The team only has one loss to Miami and only dropped 3 other maps all year. They are going to be a tough team to stop as they swept their Quarterfinal match against Northern Illinois.

In a recent interview, support player  Matthew “RavenStrider” admitted that their Quarterfinal match was a lot harder than expected but they were still able to prevail. The match made the team realize that they need to lock in heading into this Semifinal matchup against the Bobcats of Ohio University.

Both schools have their aim at their first piece of ESC hardware to put in their trophy cases. Ball State is looking to be a part of their second ESC championship this Spring. Their League of Legends team was able to make the ESC League of Legends Championship against Northeastern. However, results fell short for the League of Legends team.

The Ball State Overwatch team looks to respond with their own trophy. Don't overlook Ohio, as this year they have proven to be a top four contender university in multiple titles across the ESC. They are also looking to win their first championship trophy in program history.

With four different championship matches possible before the Semifinals action begins, the top two seeds have to be the favorites heading towards this weekend's postseason. The Red Bird Rivalry will certainly live up to the championship hype in a best of seven series. After one of the best series of the regular season in the 3-2 Miami win against Ball State, the Red Bird Rivalry looks to deliver. 

With a Miami loss to Northeastern, a similar Spring championship matchup may happen once again. Ball State and Northeastern would be facing off again for a shot at the ESC Championship Trophy. This time in the world of Overwatch. Northeastern would be looking to go back to back Overwatch championships and also secure both ESC titles for the Spring. Ball State looks to get their first program title ever.

It is the Battle of the Bricks. One of the oldest rivalries in traditional sport would meet once again in the world of Overwatch. This rivalry goes back all the way to 1908. Enough is said, the rivalry speaks for itself in what will be an amazing best of seven series. Miami would look to gain their second ESC Overwatch title while Ohio grabs their first ESC title across all games.

If both lower seeds win their Semifinal matchup it sets up the cats versus the dogs. The Ohio Bobcats look to repeat the results of the regular season against the Northeastern Huskies after they took a 3-2 victory. What was one of the most exhilarating matches in the regular season could turn into one of the best series of the season in the championship match. 

Stay tuned on Esports.gg for more Esports Collegiate Conference news and updates.