Loyola Esports wins two matches this week

NEW ORLEANS – The Wolf Pack Esports program was in full swing this week with four teams competing from Tuesday through Thursday. Tuesday night kicked off with the Loyola Overwatch team taking a 3-1 victory over Florida Tech in its first match of the season. On Wednesday, the Call of Duty squad fell to West Virginia, 3-0. Then, both Super Smash Bros. teams competed on Thursday with Plus getting the season-opening 2-0 win against LSU Shreveport and Premier losing to Texas A&M University-San Antonio, 2-0.

The Pack will be back in action next week with an upcoming four-game slate. Overwatch will get going on Tuesday night at 6 p.m. against Atlantic University. Call of Duty will continue on Wednesday at 6 p.m. against Missouri Southern. The Smash Bros. teams will both be competing on Thursday at 6 p.m. taking on Texas A&M International University and Talladega College, respectively. The Wolf Pack Esports matches will be live at https://www.twitch.tv/loynoesports with the Super Smash Bros. Plus team competing on https://www.youtube.com/@loynoesports2.

Loyola Overwatch started Tuesday by taking the first set on the Control Point map, Lijiang Tower. The Pack dominated from start to finish on round one, never allowing the Panthers to capture the point. A three-kill Deadeye from Mark Violante took away any hope of Tech winning the first round. In the second round, a Barrage from Dashiell Hazzard eliminated two Panthers to hold off Florida Tech's best attempt at a capture.

On the Hybrid map, Blizzard World, the Panthers began by pushing the payload to its destination, taking a 3-0 lead in the second set. After Loyola left Florida Tech with no time in the first round, the Pack also scored three while also keeping some time on the board. The Panthers nearly captured the first point in round three, but the Pack held them off. In round four, the Panthers stopped the Pack's best efforts to win the match, tying the score with a set win.

After dropping a very close second set, tying the score at 1-1, the Pack dominated on the Push map, Runasapi. Matthew Marshall led the charge as Sigma while Stirling Downes and Maya Hernandez kept the team alive on support. On the second map, the Wolf Pack never allowed the Panthers to move the bot, taking a 2-1 lead heading into set four. The Wolf Pack cruised through set four, taking the win over Florida Tech, 3-1.