RIVER FOREST, ILL. -- Making their first appearance in the National Esports Collegiate Conference (NECC) Division 9 National Overwatch Tournament, the Concordia University Chicago Esports team fell in the opening round against the East Central University Tigers Jakku 3-1.

Each game was a back-and-forth battle for the between the teams, but CUC would start off on control with ECU's map pick of Antarctica. The Cougars were able to get a strong lead on the first point, but they would be unable to convert, dropping point one and two to fall in game one 2-0. Strong performances from Connor Lewandowski (West Dundee, Ill.) aka Lewie and Damian Avalos (Chicago, Ill.) aka Sen would keep the Cougars battling, but would be unable to overcome the Tigers. 

On game two, the Cougars selected King's Row for Hybrid, a map that the Cougars have a great deal of experience with. CUC started on attack and pushed the Tigers back to grab an early 3-0 lead. On defense, the Cougars held strong despite the Tigers trying to their momentum. Luis Cortes (Maywood, Ill.) aka Mr. Frong, would freeze the Tigers in their tracks on Mei while key combos from the team's tank, Connor Bleazard (Saint Joseph, Mo.) aka Bostino, led to all five members being eliminated. With the ace, the Cougars would win in game two to even up the series. Bostino would go 31-16-3 with 17k in damage and 6k damage blocked. Mr. Frong would go 24-8-4 dealing out 6k in damage and supporting the rest of the team with strong defense. 

Game three would bring the Cougars to a new map on Push Esperança where the Tigers would start off strong with a 70-20 lead that they would hold onto for the majority of the game. In the last three minutes the Cougars won a series of fights to push to a 108-70 lead with a minute left on the clock. The Tigers wouldn't go down without a fight and capitalized on some CUC mistakes to win a final fight and take the game 109-108 and jump ahead of the 2-1 in the series, putting the pressure on the Cougars for game four. Jordan Burroughs (River Forest, Ill.) aka SoulReaper would go 4-15-3 with 10k in healing. 

With their backs against the wall in game four, the Cougars would head into game four with a chip on their shoulder. They would head into flashpoint on Survasa with another close back-and-forth battle for the first couple of points. Cougars dropped point one 100-99 after some chaotic fights that would keep CUC battling. After dropping points two and three, the Cougars would fall in the game 3-1, closing out their run in NECC Nationals. Strong play from the team would make the game a fight, but would be unable to steal momentum and close the spring Overwatch season with a final record of 7-4.

Updates and coverage for Esports during the offseason can be found at cucougars.com and on X @CUCEsports.