May 1, 2023

Brooklyn, NY - The Vikings Esports team took home the Valorant Championship on Saturday beating Suffolk 3-2 (6-13, 16-14, 13-10). The contest was down to a match point for Suffolk when the squad came back to win the second series in triple overtime before making up another deficit in the 3rd segment to come home with the victory.

Competing in-person for the first time at a championship event, the Vikings fed off the excitement of playing at the state-of-the-art, BrookLAN Esports Arena.  Suffolk won games early and often, beating WCC in the 5v5 first person fighting format.  Each time Suffolk eliminated all five Vikings players, that put a game in the win total for the set and the Sharks ended up taking the first by the score of 13-6.  Westchester also fell behind in set 2.  They trailed by as many as 5 games but came all the way back to force overtime as a team had to get to 13 games won but also win by two.  Westchester not only tied it at 13 but came out the winner of that set by extending the lead to win 16-14.  
 
In the 3rd, the match was tied at 4 when Suffolk rattled off a string of game wins to take a 9-4 lead.  It looked as if Westchester used up all the team's energy in coming back to force the 3rd set.  Just as it looked as if they were headed for a disappointing Championship loss, WCC won 9 of the last 10 games to seal the win and take home the title.  

The Championship was the 2nd SUNY Esports triumph in the program's history.  In the fall of 2020, the team secured a title in Smite.  The finals win also represented the 5th major championship since the team's inception.  Westchester has also won the NJCAAe National Championship in Overwatch and two in FIFA soccer.  

That competition brings and end to the Esports season at WCC.  It was another successful year as the program looks to build off of it's early prosperity in a number of game selections.  Look out for updates on the Esports program in the fall as the 2023-2024 season begins in September!