Loyola Smash Bros. competes in postseason

NEW ORLEANS – The Wolf Pack had an action-packed week of esports competition. The Pack started play on Tuesday by sweeping matches against SCAD Savannah and Southern Alberta Institute of Technology. In Sun Conference play, Loyola competed in the grand finals against Keiser University. In Call of Duty on Wednesday, the Wolf Pack fell to Neumont College of Computer Science A, 3-0. On Thursday, the Pack competed against Texas A&M International University in NACE Premier play, falling in a three-set contest. The NACE Plus team also took a sweeping victory against Ringling College of Art and Design.
 

If additional postseason matches are played, they will be announced at a later date and appear on the esports schedule. All of the matches will be streamed at https://www.youtube.com/@loynoesports.
 

The Wolf Pack started Tuesday by defeating SCAD Savannah in the Sun Conference Semifinals. Samuel Spiegal got the first win for Loyola by defeating Wolf. After Spiegal fell to Wii Fit Trainer, Ameer Joseph stepped in to eliminate SCAD's fighter. Then, Joseph's Bayonetta defeated Joker to give the Pack the edge in the first set. Once Joseph got SCAD's player to one stock, Makari Jackson entered the ring to eliminate King Dedede to win the first set.
 

The second set went much the same way with Joseph and Jackson getting clutch wins to put the Pack in position for a sweep. Finally, Anthony Nodolski defeated Luigi to secure a spot in the Sun Conference Grand Finals. Just minutes after the Wolf Pack defeated SCAD Savannah, Loyola began the grand finals match against Keiser University. 
 

Having previously played Keiser University, the Wolf Pack knew the Seahawks were a strong team having taken a tough loss to them in the final match of the regular season. This time, the Wolf Pack made things close by getting to Keiser's ace player Ridley. However, the heavyweight Ridley provided a tough matchup for the Wolf Pack, going into high percentages without dropping stocks. The Seahawks took the win over the Wolf Pack, but Loyola had a strong season in Sun Conference play, taking the spot as the runner-up with a 6-3 record.
 

At the same time the Sun Conference Smash Bros. team was competing, the NACE Premier team was playing in the Last Chance Qualifier against SAIT. The Wolf Pack took care of business against the Trojans, advancing to the next round of the postseason qualifier on Thursday. Against TAMIU, the Pack played well against a team on a three-game winning streak. In the final fight of the match, Spiegal's Roy pushed TAMIU's Kazuya to his final stock before falling, 3-2.
 

The NACE Plus Smash Bros team ended the week off with a sweeping win over Ringling College. Loyola started the match with Evan Sakryd getting the 3-2 win over Ringling's Ness. Then, Joaquin Vazquez entered the game with Link to take down Zelda. Vazquez continued to win, taking down Yoshi in the process. Leyton Gould's Sonic capped off the first set with a win to take the one-set lead.
 

Daven-Angelo Montalbano began the second set as Shulk, falling to Zelda in a close 3-2 matchup. Gould sent Zelda off the stage with a forward smash attack to advance to the next fighter. Gould's Sonic defeated Ness and Yoshi to bring Ringling down to its last fighter. After Gould fell to Joker, Vazquez ended the match, securing a victory in the final regular-season match for the NACE Plus team.