In just the second year of varsity competition, the Heidelberg Esports Valorant team clinched a spot in the Great Lakes Esports Conference (GLEC) Finals for the first time in program history. Held last weekend, the top 10 teams in the conference for each game title (Valorant, League of Legends & Super Smash Bros. Ultimate) travelled to South Bend for the 2-day, in-person LAN tournament at Bendix Arena.
After going 5-4 during the regular season, Heidelberg's Valorant team entered the tournament as the #7 seed, and ended their season finishing in 10th place overall, going 0-3 to Baldwin Wallace University, Illinois Wesleyan University & Alma College during the tournament.
"We were optimistic about our chances of making a deep run in this tournament, however, we had to battle through a bit of adversity not having two of our top players with us due to other sports commitments happening that same weekend," said Head Coach
Ryan McDannell. "All things considered, the team members we took to LAN played their absolute hearts out and hung with some of the best players in the league. Each one of our student athletes had moments throughout the tournament where they had some of their best individual performances of the season. I couldn't be more proud of what they've been able to accomplish in such a short amount of time."
After going 0-9 during their inaugural season for the GLEC, the Valorant can now say that not only did they finish with a winning record and their first playoff berth in program history, but they also have TWO all-conference athletes in their midst, including the league's MVP.
Sophomore student-athlete, and member of the Heidelberg Men's Basketball team, Drew Panning (gamertag Drewpy) was named First Team All-GLEC Valorant Team, after finishing the regular season with a whopping 412 kills, 64 assists and 81 first bloods. In a game in which a 1.0 Kills-Deaths-Assists (KDA) rating is considered average, and anything between a 1.2-1.6 is considered really good, Panning tallied a 1.8 KDA. He was also named the GLEC's Most Valuable Player for Valorant.
"I knew that Drew was going to be a game-changer for our team the moment he walked on during our first week of practices this semester. He has such a depth of knowledge of the game and exudes confidence with his play-making ability," said McDannell. "He's been an integral part of our team's push to make the playoffs this year, and not to mention, he's also clapped some of the nastiest shots of anyone on the team."
Graduate student-athlete, and member of the Heidelberg Cross Country & Track teams,
Nate Jimenez (gamertag 'Mr_Nice 0_0') was also named to Second Team All-GLEC Valorant Team, after finishing the regular season with 305 kills, 139 assists, 39 first bloods, and a 1.2 average KDA rating.
"As captain of our Valorant team, Nate's been the rock-steady foundation on which we are building this team around," said McDannell. "He's been a talented and dedicated member of our Valorant team since day one -- an excellent leader and communicator both in-game and out, and this season especially, his talents have been able to really shine. I'm glad that the league has taken notice and recognized him for all of his hard work and dedication to the game."
The Heidelberg Esports program will be looking forward to some much deserved time off in the coming weeks as the fall season and semester comes to a close. The program returns to action for what's shaping up to be another thrilling season of esports in the spring, starting at the end of January. All past game broadcasts can be found at youtube.com/@BergEsports. And tune in live during game days next season at twitch.tv/heidelbergesports."
