ANBURY, Conn. – The ECAC has announced the Esports Players of the Week for the period ending February 14 Presented by Lenovo Legion.
Overwatch Player of the Week – Andrew Goodrich, Post University
Goodrich has been a jack of all trades for the Post program, earning spots on our Valorant, League of Legends and Overwatch teams. He led the Overwatch team this week with phenomenal plays and shot-calling asPharah helping Post nearly take a map off the University of Albany.
Overwatch Rookie of the Week – Eli Park, Johnson & Wales University
Park has made a transitioning from console to PC and it showed on Wednesday’s match as the team dominated their game. Eli’s play allowed for a quick match on the control map from the series.
Valorant Player of the Week – Ethan Renault, SUNY Polytechnic Institute
Ethan showed an impressive performance this week against John Jay College. He scored 42 kills across both games against the Bloodhounds while piloting Omen and Reyna. Having recently moved into a leadership role on SUNY Poly’s Valorant Team A, Ethan has already proven he will be a great asset to the team this season.
“I’m really glad to have been nominated as player of the week. I have spent countless hours both in comp and in scrims to get here, whether I’m on the leader board or not I’m always trying to improve. I am very excited for what collegiate esports holds for Valorant and all the schools involved. I see some great competition in the coming semesters and can’t wait to see where everyone ends up season after season.” – Goomer
Valorant Rookie of the Week – Evan Kelsey, Muskingum University
Evan led the Fighting Muskies Valorant team to a 2-0 start in ECAC play with a victory over the Moravian Cyberhounds. Kelsey racked up a ridiculous 51/24/16 scoreline over 39 rounds, and was the clear driving force behind the Muskies’ strong showing.
“It feels great to be selected and make an impact for my university. We have made huge improvement from before and feel good about competition so far.” – Ekae
Rocket League Player of the Week – Dakota Lydem, Post University
Lydem has returned to Post University’s Rocket League team and has not missed a beat, leading them to a commanding 3-0 victory in week one over The Catholic University of America. Atokad racked up a combined 1,999 points, 10 goals and three assists in just three games.
“Wirta and NovaJay have been putting in the time and effort to play at a level they might not have previously been used to. It’s thanks to both of them that I’m able to do what I do on the field and I look forward to the future of the team.” – Atokad
Rocket League Rookie of the Week – Edward Mitchell, Bethel University
Mitchell scored four goals on seven shots (57.2%) with seven saves and three assists this week. He had total score of 1690 in leading the team to 3-1 victory over Hartford.
“I’m very excited to have been given this award and thank you to ECAC for choosing me. This in no way will stop me from improving, but instead will push me to keep improving day by day for the rest of the season and for many seasons to come.” – Retzy
Super Smash Bros. Ultimate Player of the Week – Nicholas Cruz-Wegmann, Long Island University
On Pokemon Trainer, Nicholas solo carried a 15-5 stock comeback, after LIU dropped set one of their best of threee. Ultimately, LIU ended up winning the match on the final stock of set 3.
“First, I would like to thank Warhood (Mr. McDremott) for his support as well as the rest of LIU Sharks team. Additionally, I would like to thank ECAC for the opportunity to contribute to Esports. I feel honored to be the player of the week as this is a great way to start the New Year. Having started the first Esports club in my high school, I hope to continue to support and be a part of Esports as well as a member of ECAC for years to come. I’ve had a lot of fun so far and I look forward to competing with other talented Smash Bros players.” -Ninjanick
Super Smash Bros. Ultimate Rookie of the Week – Warren Bridgewater, Johnson & Wales University
Bridgewater pulled out a clutch final map as he secured the win against newcomer Carroll University. The freshmen was first time anchoring for the smash team as he usually will lead series, helping the team start the season with a win.
“I don’t think I deserve rookie of the week in my mind but I’m going to work harder to gain it in my mind or something even better.” – Kirby
Fortnite Player of the Week – Kesten Taylor, Muskingum University
Despite a rough game one, Kesten helped the Fighting Muskies storm back in the first week of the ECAC Fortnite tournament securing 18 eliminations and Victory Royale in game two. The herculean effort has the Muskies currently in second place overall, and poised to challenge for the ECAC crown in their first season.
Fortnite Rookie of the Week – Aferdita Skudrinja, SUNY Empire
“Its so wild I still feel like I’m living a dream because all my life I was told video games are not for girls growing up in an old school background. Now I look back and I’m thankful I never lost my love and pushed on to playing video games. I’m going repeatedly thank who ever made SUNY Empire Esports possible because I’m so stoked to play and have met teamates virtually. Having this warm friendly welcome is so amazing!” – Gaminggoddess
FIFA 21 Player of the Week – Victor Jeronimo, St. John’s University
In Week 1, Jeronimo notched 5-0 and 5-1 victories with a +9 goal differential to win the match. In Week 2, he came out on top 7-3 and 5-3 with a +15 aggregate goal differential.
NBA 2k21 Player of the Week – Lloyd Guyzer, Johnson & Wales University
“I don’t fold under pressure” – Lloydguy
League Of Legends Player of the Week – Tenzin Namgyel, Ithaca College
IC Esports maintained their undefeated record in week two behind a strong performance from Tenzin, going 5/3/4 in a dominant game one, and bringing the team back from being down early in game two, while posting a monster 12/2/8 KDA. He consistently had an over 60 CS difference between his lane opponent.
“It feels nice to be selected, though I think I could’ve played a lot better. I don’t think I played any different than any other week. Overall though, ECAC has been a ton of fun and I think we’re definitely getting into an overall groove as a team.” – CF Card
League Of Legends Rookie of the Week – Michael Inman, Grace College
Michael “Big Mike” Inman scored three quadra kills in one game this week with an ending KDA of 22/1/7 on Kai’Sa. In the next game, Big Mike had Kai’Sa picked away from him, but still had a carry performance on Vayne ending at a 11/2/10 KDA with 35% of the team’s damage.
“Thank you for Rookie of the Week. I work really hard to preform well for my teammates and Grace College.” – Big Mike
ABOUT ECAC ESPORTS
ECAC is an 82 year-old organization with over 200 member schools across all NCAA divisions. The ECAC exists to enhance the experience of student-athletes participating in intercollegiate athletics and provides great value for universities and college by sponsoring championships, leagues, bowl games, tournaments and other competitions throughout the Northeast. ECAC Esports is growing and now totals more than 60 colleges and universities and is expanding the geographic footprint for the conference nationally. ECAC’s Esports program is dedicated to providing and activating intercollegiate esports competition for colleges across the country.