Raiders Claim Second Consecutive Overwatch Title at Heartland Showdown

MANHATTAN, Kan. – Northwestern ran the gauntlet again at the Heartland Showdown at Kansas State University, taking the title in the LAN competition for the second year in a row.

"Winning the Heartland Showdown in back-to-back years is a pretty sweet feeling," Director of Esports Cole Prescott said.

The Raiders' varsity Overwatch team opened the day with 2-0 wins over K-State JV, York (Neb.), and Wayne State (Neb.). Moving into bracket play, Northwestern swept their way to the top with 3-0 wins against Kansas State, Wichita State, and Kansas. On the day, the Raiders crafted a perfect performance, not dropping a single map.

"The neat thing to me is how different each experience looks on the surface, but how similar they are in reality," Prescott added. "Last year, we came in as underdogs, and this year our team was one of the favorites, but in both years they worked to improve and prepare for the tournament and showed up on the day of the competition. I believe that is where the true satisfaction in both wins comes from – both years we worked hard and used what we had to prepare as best we could, and the results took care of themselves."

Northwestern's JV squad also found success, reaching the quarterfinals. They made it out of their pool with wins over Kansas City, York JV, and Kansas State JV. A 1-3 loss to Kansas ended their day in bracket play, shifting focus to playoffs back home.

On Monday, Northwestern opened playoffs against Illinois State, coming back for a 3-2 win to advance to Wednesday, when they will meet Illinois Wesleyan at 7:00 p.m.

Don't forget to follow Northwestern College Athletics on Facebook @nwcraiders, Twitter @nwcraiders, and Instagram @nwcraiders! #RaidersStandOut

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