Baker College’s esports program, The Swarm, closed out a successful fall season with deep postseason runs, national championship appearances, and multiple in-person LAN competitions across VALORANT and Rocket League.
PlayVS:
The Swarm VALORANT team headed into the PlayVS College League Premier Division Playoffs as the #3 seed overall following an undefeated regular season. Their opponent in the Round of 16 was the #14 seeded University of Illinois – Urbana Champaign. Only needing a single series victory to send them to the PCL Championship in-person LAN event, The Swarm was able to close out the series and secure the win, sending themselves alongside 7 other schools to the National Championship LAN held in Akron, Ohio at the University of Akron.
The Swarm travelled to the University of Akron to compete for the PCL National Championship, December 13-14. Placed in a group with Northwood University, Fisher College, and Tiffin University, the VALORANT team needed to finish in the top half of their group to qualify for Day 2 of the Semifinals and Grand Finals. In the first round, The Swarm took on Fisher. After a few technology delays and equipment issues, The Swarm lost the series and dropped to the Lower Bracket, where they were matched up against Tiffin. The VALORANT team was able to claim victory in the end, sending them to the Lower Finals against Fisher once again, with only one series separating them from moving on in the competition. After a back-and-forth match, The Swarm was unfortunately defeated, ending their PlayVS season and finishing Top 6 overall in the Premier Division.
NACE:
In their inaugural semester with an undefeated season, The Swarm Rocket League team entered the NACE Varsity Plus East 8 Conference Playoffs as the #1 seeded team, receiving a first-round bye. In their Semifinal matchup against Northeast State Community College, The Swarm was able to pick up a strong victory, sending them to the Championship match, facing off against the #2 Howard Payne University. In a closely contested series, The Swarm unfortunately fell short, losing the series and ending their NACE season as the Varsity Plus East 8 Conference Runner-ups.
River City Invitational:
In partnership with the Grand Rapids Comic Con, the Michigan High School Esports Federation hosted an esports invitational tournament in the DeVos Place Convention Center, in which The Swarm Rocket League team was invited to participate along with 8 other local colleges throughout Michigan and the neighboring states.
The Rocket League team made the journey up to Grand Rapids for the River City Invitational the weekend of November 14th to compete in their first in-person LAN event, with their Round 1 match against Albion College. The Swarm put up a good fight, but unfortunately dropped the series and fell into the Lower Bracket, where they next took on Cleary University. The Rocket League team again gave it their all, but unfortunately lost the series, ending their River City Invitational run.
NECC:
After a well-fought regular season, The Swarm began the NECC Division 1 Playoffs as the #2 seeded team, with their first round matchup against the University of Akron. After a solid series, the VALORANT team moved onto the Upper Semifinals against Northwood University. In another close series, The Swarm was unable to close out the match, falling to the Lower Bracket with their next match against Fisher College’s Junior Varsity team. The VALORANT team was able to pick up another victory, moving them ahead to the Lower Semifinals against Cumberland University’s Junior Varsity team. Following a great series victory, The Swarm continued to the Lower Finals where they would once again take on Northwood University. History would unfortunately repeat itself, with The Swarm losing another close series, ending their NECC postseason with a third place finish.
Across multiple leagues and national stages, our players competed with confidence, resilience, and professionalism. With appearances at major postseason tournaments and strong competitive results throughout the fall, The Swarm continues to build momentum heading into the spring season.