Triton Esports athletes make Top 5 at NACE tournament
Triton Esports athletes make Top 5 at NACE tournament
Triton Esports athletes make Top 5 at NACE tournament
4/22/2022
The team at the 暗网AV has proven that their success last season was not a fluke. Last month, two of the program鈥檚 athletes battled their way through a grueling 66-person double-elimination bracket to make the top eight in the Community Cup playoffs held on March 27.
After making it past the qualifiers, Triton Esports standouts Barron 鈥淭rix鈥� Tranate and Daryl 鈥淭echnition鈥� Dianzon were ready and alert at 3 a.m. the morning of the competition to take on some of the best student-athletes in the nation. Dianzon walked away with third place, and Tranate took fourth place 鈥� placing them in the top 3% of collegiate Super Smash Bros. Ultimate athletes across the nation.
鈥淢aking it this far feels amazing. This was a great experience overall, and I would love to play again at the next tournament 鈥� except this time, I'll be shooting for the stars,鈥� Tranate said.
The victory comes on the heels of the Triton Esports program's similar success in December, where four athletes 鈥� including Dianzon and Tranate 鈥� finished within the top 25 in the nation. Dianzon finished 17th in that tournament, and while third was a significant improvement, the young, full-time student had his sights set on bigger accomplishments.
鈥淚'm definitely happy about the result, but I feel that I could've performed better and won the whole tournament. I always want to strive to do better, not just for myself, but also to represent Guam and UOG better,鈥� Dianzon said.
SSBU gold team advances to 16th in the nation
The Tritons beat San Jose University (Calif.) 2-0, with Maven 鈥淪trategem鈥� Dulana shining as the MVP of the match with a five-stock record. Following two losses, the Tritons bounced back and snagged another win against the University of Houston with a final score of 3-0. Dianzon finished the match with a record four stocks against UH, claiming a victory in the playoffs for his team.
Although they were eliminated from playoffs after losing to The University of Texas at Austin 1-0, the SSBU gold team said they walked away with a new perspective on competition and respect for their opponents.
鈥淎s a new player, I found my experience in the NACE competition interesting, challenging, and fun [鈥. I experienced a level of play that I haven鈥檛 faced before,鈥� said student-athlete Kameel 鈥淏ugs鈥� Hutcherson. 鈥淭hroughout the whole competition, I had a great time preparing for matches, playing, supporting my teammates, and watching all of our hard work pay off in the end.鈥�
With more than 100 universities competing in the league, the SSBU gold team upgraded its rank from 32nd to 16th in the nation.
鈥淚t was a privilege for me to see our athletes compete and place that high. While
I'm not 100% satisfied with how we placed this time, we'll make sure to do better
in the future,鈥� said Triton Esports SSBU Assistant Coach Michael Park.
Content, but not satisfied, the team said they鈥檙e already looking for better strategies
and practicing honing their skills for a better shot at championships next year.
For updates and more information about Triton Esports, visit the program鈥檚 or follow Triton Esports on , , and .