Huskies Esports Rocket League team qualifies for major collegiate esports event
The Keyano Huskies Esports Rocket League team broke new ground during the Collegiate Rocket League West Qualifiers last Sunday. After an undefeated run through the Upper Bracket of the tournament, and a heart-wrenching best-of-five series against Grand Canyon University, the Huskies became the first team ever from Western Canada to qualify for the league.
Collegiate Rocket League (CRL) is the premier competition for post-secondary Rocket League esports. College and university teams from across the continent field their best rosters to represent their schools in high-stakes competition. Teams will compete in regional conferences throughout the school year for pride, fame, a coveted invitation to the CRL World Championship, and over $300,000 in scholastic awards.
“This weekend was huge for Keyano College, the Huskies Esports program, as well as the players themselves,” says Rocket League coach Ben Bramly. “They all had a lot to prove and did exactly what they needed to do to qualify for CRL. The exposure that qualifying will bring to the school and the esports program will be felt for years to come.”
The team played well last year, only nearly missing their spot in the CRL West Conference after a soul-crushing Game 5 loss against Texas Tech.
Conner McGlennan and Jared Greenwood returned to competition this fall. The duo have been playing together since 2020 when they joined forces at Durham College.
This year, the Huskies welcomed two new members to the Pack. Josh Byrne and Brittan Escalante have made excellent additions to the team. Both players have previous experience in collegiate competition.
Byrne joins the team after competing for St. Clair College at CRL Worlds last year. His competitive track record has attracted the attention of many in the collegiate esports scene, so when Byrne was released from his contract with St. Clair earlier this month, he quickly found a home at Keyano.
“I'm really proud of the players and how well they adjusted to changing circumstances on such short notice. Joshua, Jared, and Conner learned each other's playstyles and meshed very quickly in order to see the success we did in such a short time,” says Bramly. “Brittan was instrumental in keeping the mood and spirits up throughout the grueling qualification day.”
Rocket League is an arcade sport game where teams of three face off on a soccer pitch controlling rocket-powered battle cars. Much like traditional soccer, the objective of the game is to score more goals than your opponent. The deftness required to maneuver the game’s physics-based controls combined with the added pressure of a five-minute game timer makes Rocket League an equally exciting and challenging game to play.
Watch all of the Keyano Huskies Esports teams’ matches live on Twitch:
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For more information about the varsity esports program, email esports@keyano.ca