The University’s Rocket League team claimed another win for the WVU Esports program at the Boost on the Beach tournament in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina.
The Mountaineers beat Harrisburg, 4-1, to win the team’s third championship of the season Sunday (March 10). WVU Rocket League also won the CCA Summer Series in July and the NACE Starleague Varsity Premier Grand Finals in December.
“We’re getting more comfortable playing together in tournaments like this for sure,” junior Rocket League captain Jarret “Angel” Birch said. “We’re still a work in progress as always, but I think we definitely have a leg up now in terms of our competition through collegiate Rocket League.”
During the group stage of tournament play Saturday (March 9), WVU started Boost on the Beach with a 2-1 loss to Harrisburg before picking up seven consecutive wins to close out the tournament — including a Grand Finals win over the Storm to avenge their loss earlier in the weekend.
West Virginia beat Michigan State in the quarterfinals and Ole Miss in the semifinals before beating Harrisburg in the finals with a convincing 9-1 victory in the series-deciding Game 5.
“We recovered quickly as the event went on, we showed resiliency and that’s all you can ask for from a team,” Birch said. “Beating a team you lost to earlier in the tournament is a great feeling. They beat us in the Best of 3 series, but we weren’t too worried when we had a longer series to play against them the second time around.”
WVU wrapped up an undefeated regular season in NACE Starleague Varsity Premier play, and will be the top seed heading into the playoffs as they look to defend the national title they won last semester.
To get more updates about WVU Esports, follow the program at @WVUEsports on X, formerly Twitter, and watch live events from all the varsity esports teams on Twitch.