After a busy fall season that featured over 50 games played across seven different game titles, five of our teams have officially punched their tickets into the postseason for their respective conferences; a feat that is a first for Heidelberg University. "This season has been tremendous for us in terms of the growth of our players and our teams. We've had our fair share of adversity we've had to overcome, but every challenge has been met with perseverance, strengthening our team's bonds and drive to improve," Coach Ryan McDannell said.

Of the five teams making it into the postseason, three are returning from last spring with their sights set even higher (Valorant, Rocket League & Call of Duty); and two are new teams that formed just this past season (Marvel Rivals & Splatoon 3). Here's some background for each team and when their first playoff matches will be:


Tuesday, 11/18 - Heidelberg Valorant (A) vs. Trine University, 8:00 PM - ECAC
After finishing the regular season 4-3 & clinching the #10 seed in Division G, this is a rematch of their week 1 game of the regular season, in which the Students Princes had lost 2-1 after a series of hard fought, back-and-forth matches. They will be looking for some revenge here in round 1 of the postseason with this new look team consisting of three true freshmen, after finishing in 3rd place last spring.

*Update: At the time of this article being published, this game has already been played. Unfortunately Trine came out on top 2-1 in a series of close matches. Game 1 went into OT with the White Tigers taking it 14-12. Game 2 went to Heidelberg 13-11 after they shot out to an early lead, saw it begin to vanish, and had to fight tooth-and-nail to stay on top. And in Game 3, after falling behind 7-3, the Student Princes rallied back to tie it 11-11 before the White Tigers took the final two rounds to end our playoff run, winning it by a score of 13-11.


Thursday, 11/20 - Heidelberg Rocket League (H) vs. Anna Maria College, 8:00 PM - ECAC
Ending their regular season with a 5-2 record, our Rocket League team has clinched the #8 seed of Division E. This is another rematch from a mid-season ECAC opponent, in which our Rocket League team fought valiantly, but lost 4-3 in what was their closest game of the regular season. After making the playoffs for the first time ever last spring, they will be looking to flip the script on this team in round 1 as they are poised and hungry to win their first-ever postseason game in program history.

*Update: At the time of this article being published, this game has already been played. Your Heidelberg Student Princes dismantled Anna Maria College 4-0. Games 1 & 2 went decisively to Heidelberg to a tune of 3-1 & 5-0 respectively. Game 3 was much closer and started to go back-and-forth; but the Berg Rocket League team came out on top 5-4. And Game 4 went into OT tied 1-1, but Heidelberg sealed the deal within the first couple minutes after a fluky goal that went in after a Heidelberg player got demoed. This was their first playoff win in program history; and they are showing no signs of stopping as they will take on Muskingum University on Thursday, December 4th at 8:00pm in the quarterfinals.


Wednesday, 12/3 - Heidelberg Marvel Rivals (A) vs. Greenville University, 8:00 PM - ECAC
This will be the first-ever playoff appearance for this young Marvel Rivals team, which will be our first stream after Thanksgiving break. After a slow start, dropping their first two games of the regular season, the Student Princes were able to find their footing and win out their remaining games, ending with a 5-2 record, and clinching the #3 spot for Division I. For this team, making the playoffs in their first season of competition is a remarkable accomplishment in its own right; but they have their sights set on winning some hardware as they rematch a team that toppled them back in Week 1 by a score of 3-1.


Friday, 12/5 - Heidelberg Call of Duty (H) vs. TBD, 8:00 PM - ECAC
Because of their perfect 7-0 regular season record, Heidelberg's Call of Duty team clinched the #1 spot AND a first round BYE in Division C of ECAC. So their postseason campaign will officially begin after Thanksgiving break against the winner of this Friday night's game between Keiser University - Orlando & West Virginia Wesleyan College. 

After an impressive 2nd place finish last season, the Call of Duty team is looking to go all the way this time around. "It's unfortunate that it didn't swing our way [this time], but luckily we've still got some eligibility coming up next year," said team captain Logan McCoy during the team interview after they fell to Bellarmine University 4-0 last spring. And with the full team returning, plus the addition of two new talented teammates, they are poised and ready to make another deep run. "The job isn't finished yet," said Coach McDannell after last season's loss. "This team is talented enough, and hungry enough to go all the way. I know they will do it." In fact, through the entirety of the regular season, they've only lost 1 round, going an impressive 21-1 overall. Something to watch out for: a potential rematch with Bellarmine University if both teams make it into the semifinals.

Saturday, 12/6 & Sunday 12/7 - Heidelberg Splatoon 3 in the Circuit Finals, Times TBA - CCA
And last, but not least, our 2nd newly formed team this year, Splatoon 3, has qualified for this season's CCA (Collegiate Cephalopod Association) Circuit Finals, after finishing in 3rd & 2nd place respectively, of the Division 5 podiums back in the October & November qualifier tournaments. Consisting of team members from last year's Mario Kart team, with the added help from our esports GA, Rajah Conteh; this tournament will be an exciting one to watch, in what is a very unique team-based shooter game from Nintendo that swaps paint for bullets. 

"Splatoon has always been one of my favorite competitive games to play personally," said Coach McDannell. "I've had a lot of history playing this franchise back on the Wii U and Switch, even dabbling with a semipro team back with Splatoon 2. And when my new GA [Rajah] came to Heidelberg with a passion for the game as well, we knew that if there was enough interest among our student athletes, that we'd try and form a team. So I'm thrilled that we have a group that is playing and loving this game, that work well with one another, and that we are able to shine a spotlight on this smaller, but exciting up-and-coming esports title."

You can catch all of the upcoming playoff games live at twitch.tv/heidelbergesports.