Spring 2023 Esports Season Preview
Wednesday, January 18, 2023
As they enter the 2023 season, the Seton Hall Esports team celebrates its four-year anniversary, and the 10-year anniversary of the Seton Hall Gaming Sector, the club that laid the foundation for the program. "It truly is a special year for the program and our players, many of whom were part of the inaugural team and will be completing their degrees this semester," said Victor Gomez, Esports Manager. "As such, everyone from the players to the coaching staff are excited for the chance to bring another BIG EAST Championship home to the Hall."
For the Rocket League (RL) and Super Smash Brother’s Ultimate (SSBU) squads, the spring marks the second half of their 16-week season, a continuation from the fall. For the League of Legends (LoL) team, the spring serves as the one chance per year that BIG EAST institutions can compete to win the conference and secure their place in the Riot Games sponsored, national tournament.
Rocket League
The Rocket League squad ended the first half of the Electronic Gaming Federation Collegiate (EGFC) Season 4 with a 7-1 record and were undefeated in BIG EAST play. They look to build on that success this spring, with ambitions to head to the BIG EAST playoffs in March. The team saw the departure of James “Jimbo” Heid, who graduated in December. The Rocket League team will continue to be led by Antonio “Tone” Riozzi, who will resume his role as Captain as he enters his final semester at Seton Hall.
Look Back on the Seton Hall Rocket League Team 2022 Highlight
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| Seton Hall's Rocket League Team in the first-of-its-kind match against the Butler Bulldogs during half-time of the BIG EAST men’s basketball game live at Prudential Center. |
The Seton Hall Rocket League team will be back on the virtual pitch in February. Matches will be broadcasted live at Twitch.Tv/officialEGF. Matches this season will take place weekly on Wednesday in a best-of-3 format.
League of Legends
The League of Legends team saw the addition of new players as the program prepares for the upcoming graduations of starting players Ian “Krop” Kropliak, Kevin “Vollme” Craig, and Justin “Fleuber Burbler” Lee. The changes have not slowed the fervor of the Pirates as they made their way to playoffs in the fall, and used the transitions to their advantage by testing new strategies and playing newer members on the Rift. The Pirates ultimately fell in the semifinals to DePaul University in a riveting 1-2 series, but have used the momentum to continue to polish and hone their skills and look to direct that energy to a successful spring season.
League of Legends will return at the end of January as a part of Riot Games Collegiate League of Legends 2023 Season and will be broadcasted live on Saturdays at Twitch.tv/BIGEASTesports. The competition is operated by Battlefly and will feature a best-of-3 format with the regular season concluding in early March, before BIG EAST Conference semifinals and the grand finals at Butler Esports Park.
Super Smash Brother’s Ultimate
As one of the newest institutions to join the EGFC SSBU league, the Pirates have been building their experiences and learning to navigate in a league filled with fantastic players. The squad saw the departure of Nikolas “Gymbo2000” Theodoracopoulos at the end of the fall season and will search for players to fill in the role. In the interim, the team will rally around Noah “N0ah” Ferro who continues his first year as Captain, and seeks to improve the program and team during his tenure as such.
The Seton Hall SSBU team will be back in action in late January. Matches will be broadcasted live at Twitch.TV/EGFssbu. Matches this season will take place weekly on Tuesday.
A full schedule of dates and times for all three teams will be shared on the Esports Program schedule page closer to the start of the season.
About Seton Hall Esports
A leader in the field, Seton Hall has had an esports club team since 2013. Among the
first University gaming organizations in the state of New Jersey to be recognized,
the team has been asked by a number of gaming organizations to provide insight into
the future of collegiate gaming. The Seton Hall Esports team has played a pivotal
role in the shaping and formation of league-sanctioned collegiate play. In November
2019, the University completed construction on a state-of-the-art computer lab and
esports facility with dedicated and optimized computers for students' recreational
and competitive use. The Pirates are 2x League of Legends BIG EAST Champions, 1x Rocket
League BIG EAST Champions and Electronic Gaming Federation’s Season 3 National Champions
for Rocket League. For more information, visit www.shu.edu/esports.
About the BIG EAST
The BIG EAST Conference is an association of 11 nationally prominent colleges and
universities that foster healthy athletic competition, community service and the pursuit
of excellence in academic environments. The athletic programs of BIG EAST institutions
provide national-caliber participation opportunities for more than 4,100 student-athletes
on over 200 men’s and women’s teams in 22 sports. Established in 1979 and headquartered
in New York City, the BIG EAST’s members are located in eight of the country’s top
36 largest media markets and include Butler University, University of Connecticut,
Creighton University, DePaul University, Georgetown University, Marquette University,
Providence College, St. John’s University, Seton Hall University, Villanova University
and Xavier University. For more information, visit www.bigeast.com.
About EGF
Founded in 2015, EGF is the national governing body for formalized collegiate D-I
esports and high school level leagues. EGF’s youth, high school and D-I collegiate
leagues are inspired by the best aspects of traditional sports to create opportunities
for students and schools to engage and advance. For more information or to inquire
about collegiate participation, please visit EGF.gg , follow @officialEGF on Twitter, Instagram and Twitch and Facebook or contact [email protected]
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