NEW YORK – No. 4 seed Butler won the BIG EAST Rocket League ® Championship title on Sunday, Dec. 9, defeating No. 2 seed Seton Hall in the final, 3-2.
The Bulldogs upset top seeded DePaul, 3-2 in the semifinal match, while the Pirates defeated No. 3 seed Marquette, 3-2 in the second semifinal.
"I am very proud of the team and what we accomplished, said Butler sophomore Henry Johnson, handle name, Sirerin. “From fighting through a tiebreaker to even make it to playoffs, to reverse sweeping the No. 1 seed, and then winning it all in game five in the finals, we've proven the kind of team we are. We won't give up when the odds are against us, and we'll fight to the end. We've proven the strength of our team, and we plan to be a force to be reckoned with in the BIG EAST. I can't wait to see what we can accomplish further down the line for our team, as well as for our organization as whole."
The Bulldogs had narrowly made the cut into the playoffs as Butler and St. John’s tied for fourth at 5-7 and 15 points. Butler defeated St. John’s in a head-to-head playoff 3-2 on Nov. 15 to win the tie-breaker.
The No. 1 Blue Demons finished 11-1 with 33 points, while the second-seeded Pirates went 9-3 in matches gaining 27 points. The Golden Eagles record was 7-5, 21 points.
The fall championship season began on Oct. 21, with teams competing in Rocket League ® by Psyonix and competed in a double round-robin competition. For more on the 2018 BIG EAST Rocket League fall season, visit www.BIGEASTgaming.com.
The fall championship came on the heels of a successful esports pilot program last spring, where the BIG EAST competed in two titles, League of Legends by Riot Games and Rocket League® by Psyonix and began its partnership with ESL, the world’s largest independent esports company. This pilot program between the BIG EAST and ESL was announced in mid-March 2018.
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About BIG EAST
The BIG EAST Conference is an association of ten nationally prominent colleges and universities that foster healthy athletic competition, community service and the pursuit of excellence in academic environments. The athletic programs of BIG EAST institutions provide national-caliber participation opportunities for more than 3,727 student-athletes on over 180 men’s and women’s teams in 22 sports. Established in 1979 and headquartered in New York City, the BIG EAST’s members are located in seven of the country’s top 35 largest media markets and include Butler University, Creighton University, DePaul University, Georgetown University, Marquette University, Providence College, St. John’s University, Seton Hall University, Villanova University and Xavier University. For more information, visit www.bigeast.com.
About ESL
ESL, a part of the international digital entertainment group MTG, is the world's largest independent esports company, leading the industry across the most popular video games with numerous online and offline competitions. It operates high profile, branded international and national leagues and tournaments such as the Intel® Extreme Masters, ESL One, ESL National Championships and other top tier stadium-size events, as well as grassroots amateur cups, leagues and matchmaking systems. ESL covers a broad field of services in gaming technology, event management, advertising and television production, fully catering to the needs of the esports ecosystem. With offices in North America, Germany, Russia, France, Poland, Spain, China, and partners in many other countries, it has a truly global footprint (www.eslgaming.com).
About Rocket League®
Winner or nominee of more than 150 “Game of the Year” awards, Rocket League is one of the most critically-acclaimed sports games of our generation. Boasting a community of more than 50 million players, Rocket League is a high-powered hybrid of arcade-style soccer and vehicular mayhem with easy-to-understand controls and fluid, physics-driven competition. Available on Nintendo Switch™, PlayStation®4 computer entertainment system, Xbox One, Windows PC, Mac, and SteamOS via Steam, Rocket League includes more than 500 trillion possible customization combinations, a fully-featured offline season mode, multiple game types, casual and competitive online matches, and special “Mutators” that let you change the rules entirely.
© 2015-2018 Psyonix Inc. Rocket League, Psyonix, and all related marks and logos are registered trademarks or trademarks of Psyonix Inc. All rights reserved. All other trademarks are property of their respective owners.