As the final two weeks of the regular season tick down, the Barton Community College eSports team rode its' weekly winning streak to eight straight with an 8-4 week while the Rainbow 6 Siege team fell just short of a repeat National Championship earning a national runner-up finish.
Sitting at 55-29 overall with three teams already locked into the NJCAAE postseason, the Cougars will have one final week to possibly add two more teams to the mix as the 11-contets get underway Monday evening inside the Barton eSports Arena.
Entering postseason play on Tuesday evening, the defending Rainbow 6 Siege crew got off to a fiery start in the quarterfinals, making quick work of Hocking College 2-0. Advancing into Thursday's semifinal's matchup, the five pack clinched their second straight finals appearance rolling to their 8trh straight and 16th straight map victory of the season dispatching the University of South Carolina Sumter 2-0. Meeting up against Wichita State Technical College in an all-Kansas Championship showdown the Cougar hopes of defending their fall title would slip 2-0 suffering their lone defeat of the season and their first map losses of the year concluding their season as the national runners-up at 8-1.
Already with postseason spots locked up, the Madden 22 gamers of Chance Costello and Davon Morris sustained their undefeated seasons and top overall seed chances both improving to 7-0 overall with 2-0 victories over Trinidad State College and Camden County College.
In hardwood action, Anthony Twiggs paced the trio of NBA2K competitors to a 3-0 week. Twiggs maintained his hopes of a top overall seed in the postseason moving to 6-0 on the year edging out his Catawba Valley opponent in a winner take all contest 2-1. Kaleb Lininger made it six straight wins moving to 6-1 overall with a 2-0 thrashing of Gogebic Community College while Joshua Neal capped the perfect week for the 2k gamers laying to rest his four-match losing streak with a 2-0 victory over Navarro College.
Needing to win out and receive some help along the way for a chance at a postseason berth, the Barton Rocket League group did what it needed earning a 3-0 victory over Crowder College. Sitting at 4-4 overall and winners of two straight, the group will look to sustain the streak into Monday nights action while needing a little help to reach the postseason for a second straight semester.
In Call of Duty Cold War Gunfight 2v2, the duo of Kindric Castro and Adam Hardin suffered their first hiccup of the season dropping its' title rematch from the fall to Navarro College 3-1. Now at 7-1 overall, and holding the current tiebreaker, the twosome will look to seal their postseason spot with a win on Thursday against Trinidad State College.
Other group teams falling on the wrong side of the scoreboard was the Call of Duty Vanguard 4v4 and Valorant teams dropping their battles 3-0 and 2-0 respectfully to Gogebic Community College and Trinity Valley Community College.
Meanwhile the Rainbow 6 Siege squad will look to continue their season outside of NJCAAE play competing in a national tournament featuring the top-25 best teams across the DI, DII, NAIA and NJCAA. Entering the polls at sixth overall just a spot back of Wichita State Technical College, the Cougars will get a pair of bye weeks before they begin their quest for a championship in the round of 16 on April 23rd or 24th.