AUTHOR: CHRIS "BEARLIGHT" LEE / @BEARLIGHTCASTS
Just one week after their successful recruiting LAN event in Hartford, CT, Stay Plugged In traveled south to Florence, SC this past Friday for the Peach Belt Conference Showcase LAN. Much like the weekend prior, the event featured Rocket League, Valorant, and Super Smash Brothers Ultimate with a total prize pool of $900, and was open to anyone pursuing potential recruitment and scholarship opportunities. The event was run alongside the 2022 Peach Belt Conference Valorant Championship, where the top six teams from the collegiate conference battled it out for a title of their own. Both competitions were open to public specataors, and the turnout was quite impressive.
Matches for the Stay Plugged In showcase kicked off Friday night with a three round Group Stage for Rocket League and Valorant, and a Swiss style bracket for Smash Ultimate. On Day 1, players engaged their opponents on their PCs, and engaged recruiters at the college fair. Though only the top teams would make the Final Bracket, all players were able to compete in front of and speak to college recruiters.
Countless connections were made this past weekend. From former free agents turning into newly found teammates, to the hundreds of conversations started between college representatives and the players/parents. Following every live event, the already heavily-active Stay Plugged In website increases in engagement as these connections remain active after the weekend. Many of the direct messages sent through the platform following the event will lead to team invites and scholarship opportunities from our large network of colleges. Of course, great performance in the event is a bonus, but students don't need to be LAN champions to find their future college home. In this Stay Plugged In live event breakdown, we cover the results of the competition, and share some special moments that happened both in and out of the game at the Florence Convention Center.
STAND OUT STUDENT ATHLETE
SKINNER
After a top 4 performance in the Campus Series LAN at Johnston Community College hosted by Stay Plugged In during the first weekend of October, senior Super Smash Brothers Ultimate recruit SKINNER, known in game as 3Mario465, makes his return to yet another southeastern SPIN LAN. Before the event began, college representatives were already asking for additional information regarding the senior out of Clayton, NC. It shouldn't come as any surprise that the more active a student is in the Stay Plugged In community, the more opportunities will arise. Of course, improving upon the 3rd-4th place finish created an even bigger buzz amongst college program representatives. Whether he placed 2nd or became Showcase LAN Champion? You'll have to keep reading to find out.
ROCKET LEAGUE GAMEPLAY RECAP
FRIDAY - GROUP STAGE
Shinshi was the true stand-out team on Day 1, as they were the only team left unbeaten in matches [3-0], winning 9 of 10 games played on the day. Limestone and Dreamland went [2-1] in matches, and were the only other teams to finish above .500 in the Group Stage. A tough Day 1 for our "Team to Watch" F1S Esports A [1-2], as they drop to Limestone and Dreamland. However, their performance was good enough to make it to Day 2, where they would turn it around and play really well in Saturday's bracket.
SATURDAY - FINAL BRACKET
F1S Esports put together a big (3-0) win in the first round to start off the Final Bracket. They would make it to the Semifinals, and face off with the red-hot Shinshi team. Their performance was not quite enough to stop the train, and Shinshi would make it to the Finals with a (3-0) win of their own. On the other side, Starlight pulled off a huge upset on Dreamworld. SCROSS07, the sophomore Valorant player for FLOCO Gaming, showed his ability across multiple titles, leading a free-agent team past the #3 seeded team in Rocket League. Their run would be ended in the Semifinals however, as Limestone was able to pull through with a (3-0) victory to hit the best-of-7 Grand Finals.
Stemming from the incredible defensive stand from SYTRA, the offensive prowess between ISKYLIN3I and SPIN veteran SPOOKII came alive for the Grand Finals. LSM of Limestone also put up a respectable 7-goal performance in the final match, but when close games came down to the wire, Shinshi was able to prevail. Their (4-1) Finals win gave the crew their first ever Stay Plugged In LAN Championship. Congratulations!
ROCKET LEAGUE WINNERS: SHINSHI
SYTRA
2. ISKYLIN3I
3. SPOOKII
ROCKET LEAGUE PLAYER AWARDS
MVP | ISKYLIN3I
TOP STRIKER | LSM
TOP PLAYMAKER | ANTONE
TOP SAVIOR | SYTRA
VALORANT GAMEPLAY RECAP
FRIDAY - GROUP STAGE
Team MIST, our "Team to Watch" on the Valorant side showed up in a big way. They came out on top of the Day 1 standings with a perfect [3-0] record. Local Carolina teams CSG Varsity (Charlotte, NC) and F1S Firestorm (Florence, SC) also had great starts, both rolling out with [2-1] records. They would be your top 3 seeds moving into Saturday, and would all push late into the Bracket as well.
SATURDAY - FINAL BRACKET
In the first round, Limestone were the only team to pull off an upset. Coached by JCC Campus Series LAN champion KRYPTWALK, Limestone would make a push into the Semifinals, but would run into bracket favorites MIST. A valiant effort, but MIST would pull through on Fracture with a (13-7) win to advance to the Finals. As expected, CSG Varsity and F1S Firestorm met in the Semifinals on the other side. CSG had gotten the best of F1S in the Group Stage, and although they faced a charge from F1S late in the match, CSG would win again and advance to the Finals to face MIST.
What a battle it was in the best-of-3 Finals. DOCRAM of CSG brought some of the best Omen play we've seen in recent events with 35 assists in the 3 games played. That being said, the fragging from MIST was unmatched. A 32 kill performance from ARSH (Raze) on Map 1 was enough to give MIST the big early win. Arsh was limited to just 14 kills on Map 2, as AU5TIN (Chamber) of CSG popped off for 26 kills to answer, and evened the series at one map apiece. Unfortunately for CSG, Map 3 was a bounce back effort in every way for MIST. A sneaky-great performance from SIF as well, not necessarily leading any one category, but becoming the jack-of-all-trades, finishing the day with a 73/56/38 KDA. SIF would earn the MVP title, as MIST takes down CSG Varsity two maps to one.
VALORANT WINNERS: MIST
1. ARSH724
2. SIF
3. SPOOKYCHEX
4. HWMIDD
5. PCHU
VALORANT PLAYER AWARDS
MVP | SIF
TOP FRAGGER | ARSH724
UTILITARIAN | DOCRAM
SURVIVALIST | SPOOKYCHEX
SMASH ULTIMATE GAMEPLAY RECAP
FRIDAY - GROUP STAGE
SKINNER was not the only one making an appearance at both the JCC Campus Series and the Peachbelt Conference Showcase LANs. Also returning was SOULKINGLJ and SPADE, who looked to build off their solid performances in early October in an effort to attract even more attention from the attending colleges. Both Skinner and SoulKingLJ would finish the group stage with winning records at [4-1] and [3-2] respectively. Although Spade just missed the .500 mark at [2-3], a top 6 spot heading into the bracket wouldn't be too harsh. It was MOSS on top of the standings in breakout fashion after Day 1 though, fighting through the highly-talented crowd and staying perfect at [5-0] in matches played.
SATURDAY - FINAL BRACKET
A huge upset win for DUKEOFHYPE over #1 seeded MOSS in the Quarterfinals. Duke showed true resilience, shaking off the [1-4] group stage, and catching the attention of attending schools. Duke's run would end in the Semifinals against Artemis, who would await a winner on the other side for the Finals match. SPADE pulled off an upset in the Semifinals as well, taking out SOULKINGLJ and moving on to the Semifinals. Shortly after, SPADE exited in the Semifinals after an impressive run, as SKINNER pulled off the [3-0] win to advance to the Finals, and have a chance at the title.
ARTEMIS played a very strong Finals match. We saw SKINNER having to refocus after some incredible knock outs and giving Artemis props as he respawned. That being said, in every close battle, Skinner always found a way to keep his own damage below the breaking point. Little by little the damage would build up on Artemis, and when Artemis was forced on the offensive and dropped a block, Skinner would serve up the final blow. With a [4-1] Finals victory, SKINNER is your Peach Belt Conference Showcase LAN champion for Super Smash Brothers Ultimate!
FINAL THOUGHTS
From all of us at Stay Plugged In, we would like to thank the wonderful folks representing the Peach Belt Conference for co-hosting the event with us, as well as the Florence Convention Center for providing the incredible venue. Special thanks to all of the students, parents, and college representatives who came out to make the event as amazing as it could be. For all information on upcoming events, you can visit our events page on this site.