Esports Teams Wrap Up Spring with Two Titles (05/11/26)

HIGHLIGHTS

• The Eagles won 4-1 over St. Clair College and then won the 2026 OWCC (Overwatch Collegiate Championship) National Championship 4-2 over Northwood University.
• With the Super Smash Brothers, the team won the NACE Varsity Championship 2-0 over UT Arlington.

ORLANDO, FLORIDA - Winthrop University's Overwatch and Super Smash Brothers esports teams captured championships at the National Association of Collegiate Esports 2026 Grand Finals held April 23-26 in Orlando.

The Eagles won 4-1 over St. Clair College and then won the 2026 OWCC (Overwatch Collegiate Championship) National Championship 4-2 over Northwood University.

Chuck Rey, Winthrop athletics director, said this is a huge moment for the Eagles esports teams. "The results of the tournament are a testament to the hard work, commitment and culture these teams have built. What stands out most is not just the results, but the consistency of excellence across this program that is reflected in the recognition received from the esports community," Rey said. "Our student-athletes are competing and succeeding at the highest level while representing our university with pride."

The Overwatch roster was: Boston "Infekted" Fine, Xavier "Zeruhh" Zambrano, Samuel "S9mm" Santos, Benjamin "Ultraviolet" David and Kyle "Rakattack" Rakauskas. Coach Eric "Wheats" Perez also attended.

With the Super Smash Brothers, the team won the NACE Varsity Championship 2-0 over UT Arlington.

The Super Smash roster was: Christian "Peabnut" Londono, CJ "CJFrozen" Wiley, Bharat "Lima" Chintapalli, Dylan "Anarchy" Dunn, Connor "Regalo" Myers, Del "Twitchy!" Lyndon and Niko "Niko" Sas.

A third team, the League of Legends, finished as the runner up.

Its roster was: Noah "Denathor" Erikson, Will "Wilson" Benoit, Zach "Zach" Papanicolas, David "Mobility" Rigley and Ethan "Kim Down" Song. The team coaches are Zixing "Tails" Jie and Frank "Tomo" Lam.

A fourth esports team, Valorant, finished in the semifinals. Its roster is: Philip "Infiltrator" Nguyen, Peter "Governor" No, Adam "Fair" Elharoun, Nolan "StrongTallGuy62" Wertz and Minseok "Veyron" Mok, along with Coach Matthew "Slow" Amuah.

Three students won player awards: Philip "Infiltrator" Nguyen won NACE Player of the Year for Valorant; David "Mobility" Rigley Jr. won NACE Player of the Year for League of Legends; and Eric "Wheats" Perez won NACE Coach of the Year for Overwatch.

In addition, several Eagles were named to the All-NACE 1st and 2nd teams:

All-NACE 1st team: Xavier "Zeruhh" Zambrano (Overwatch), Christian "Peabnut" Londono (Super Smash Bros Ultimate), Noah "Denathor" Erikson (League of Legends), David "Mobility" Rigley (League of Legends), Philip "Infiltrator" Nguyen (Valorant), Peter "Governor" No (Valorant)

All-NACE 2nd team: Boston "Infekted" Fine (Overwatch), Benjamin "Ultraviolet" David (Overwatch), Bharat "Lima" Chintapalli (Super Smash Bros Ultimate).

For more information, contact Mikaela Sites at [email protected].