Hornets esports advance to semifinals after beating undefeated Mystics

The Hornet’s esports Overwatch team is on their way to playoff semi-finals after beating the spring 2020 NCJAAE champions, the Bismarck State College Mystics, ending their 11-0 undefeated season.

In a 3-0 sweep with two draws, the hornets successfully carried their momentum going into playoffs to win close map after close map.

Every map of the night ended up going to an overtime point, but the Hornet’s were able to come out on top every time.

Following the victory, the team said they felt “f***ing amazing”, and that they had “all the dopamine in the world,” and one player simply said “lets gooooooooo!.”

"We were both extremely pumped to be just doing the match and doing so well, and extremely stressed out because of how close it was the entire time,” said Michael Willard.

The team expressed surprise that two maps went to a draw.

“We had like two draws, overtime with overtime with overtime, it was never an easy match,” said team captain Lynnette Linares.

“It felt like both teams showed up not only to win, but on their A game,” said Nicholas Gilbert.

There were certain aspects which the Hornets felt gave them the edge, such as their utilization of the hero "Lucio."

“One of the things that I think we did different today that worked out hugely in our benefit is we ran Lucio the way we needed to run Lucio,” said Willard.

Patric Harter said the team practiced using Lucio in the leadup to the match, which helped them secure the victory.

“We played together, we played consistently, and we followed through,” said Linares.

Gilbert agreed with the improved ability of the team.

“We definitely ironed out a lot of our mistakes, DPS was roaming less when the enemy was acknowledged for their skill, supports we had a lot more focus both on healing and helping pick targets whenever possible," said Gilbert. "Tanks were a lot more confident with the heals and got picks and stood in one place when we needed them to.”

Despite the win, some players had doubts going in.

"Every time I thought about the match, I tried not to think about the match, because it always made me nervous,” said Linares.

“I was definitely nervous before game 1, after game 1 my nerves were gone because we managed to pull away and that’s when I knew it was possible,” said Gilbert.

Harter asked “was I the only one not really nervous?”

“I’m very proud of the team and what we’ve accomplished this season," said Assistant Coach Jeremy Isabella. "It’s been a long road to get here but we’ve earned every single step and we definitely earned this victory tonight. So I couldn’t be happier.”

The team agreed that there was no single MVP, as the entire team “played their role to an amazing extent,” according to Wilard.

The Hornet’s have a tough semifinals match against the Bryant and Stratton Virginia Beach Campus on Thursday, April 29th at 8:00 P.M.

The Match was streamed on Twitch with upwards of 27 viewers, with family and friends showing support, as well as students from other teams in the playoffs popping in to monitor the status of the game.

Bismarck State College is located in North Dakota.

Originally published in the Fulcrum, April 19, 2021