The main rosters of each SNHU Esports team made it to the National Esports Collegiate Conference (NECC) playoffs. The teams that qualified include League of Legends, Overwatch 2, Valorant, Rocket League, and Super Smash Bros. The playoffs began on November 14.
Both Valorant teams, as well as the League of Legends and Rocket League teams, were eliminated in the quarterfinals. However, Overwatch Sapphire and Smash Bros Blue advanced to the semifinals.
Alex Goedel (’22), the team captain of Valorant Yellow, shared his experience during the season and playoffs.
“Going into [the] playoffs, we were feeling really confident, but were definitely upset by the outcome. We ended the regular season seventh out of ten and lost in the quarterfinals of [the] playoffs,” said Goedel. “Even though our playoff run ended quickly, I’m proud to see all the teams step up and adapt quickly to a lot of changes and shortcomings we had this season. While I may be graduating, I’ll be cheering them on in the spring.”
Players of other teams also felt strongly about their seasons. Adam ‘Wishbone’ Gaboury (’25) of the Rocket League team spoke on what this season meant to him and what the teams have to look forward to.
“We made it into the playoffs as the fourth seed in our division, but unfortunately fell to McGill University during the first round. Despite getting knocked out of the playoffs in the first round, I believe the team collectively feels confident and is hopeful for next season,” said Gaboury.
Colby ‘Cruss’ Russel (’26) of Smash Bros Blue discussed where his team stands now that the season is concluding.
“I’m feeling pretty good so far as we have already [upset] our seeded place, and I’m confident we can go further. There [are] some really good players ahead of us now. We finished third in our division and are now top four of [the] NECC playoffs,” said Russel.
Overwatch player Matt ‘Palzee’ Hamel (’24) also gave his thoughts on the season.
“I personally am feeling incredibly confident in our team as of now,” said Hamel. “We were put in a tough position with substitutions in round one of [the] playoffs, but we’re a strong enough squad to where we were able to run it back. I think the rest of the team has similar thoughts…NECC is a league with some really tough competition, and we’re improving week by week. I think we’re legitimately in a really good spot to take the whole thing.”
