Staten Island, NY - The College of Staten Island ESports program captured a pair of conference titles last week as they secured East Coast Conference Championships in both Overwatch 2 and Rocket League. The first of those championships was won on Sunday night when the #2 seeded Dolphins knocked off #1 seeded NYIT 3-0 to win the Overwatch 2 ECC Conference title. The following night, the Dolphins entered the Rocket League Championship as the #1 seed and defeated #2 seed Farmingdale State, 4-2. For the Dolphins, the Rocket League Championship marks their fourth straight conference title.

Since its inception in 2020, the College of Staten Island ESports program has experienced a great deal of success. That year, the team began their season by competing in both Overwatch and Valorant playing to a combined record of 16-3. They ultimately took home the program's first conference championship in Valorant following an 11-0 season to become the first program to capture a conference title since CSI joined the East Coast Conference in 2019. The Dolphins would capture their first Rocket League Championship that same season when they defeated NYIT in the ECC finals, 4-1. The Dolphins then went on defeat Molloy 3-1 in the Rocket League finals the following Fall and defeated Farmingdale State in the Spring to capture their third straight ECC Rocket League Championship. In a rematch with Farmingdale State on Monday, the Dolphins were able to capture their fourth straight ECC Rocket League Championship.

The Dolphins not only took home a pair of conference titles this week, but they also received a pair of accolades from the conference as well. On Wednesday, it was announced that Dylan Lee (TheN00b393) had been named to the Overwatch 2 All-Conference First Team for the role of Support/Healer. Andrew Schnoda (Bioactive1) was announced as the runner-up for Player of the Year in Overwatch 2.

The Dolphins entered the ECC Playoffs in Overwatch 2 with a record of 5-2 during the regular season. Both of their losses, one by unintentional forfeit, came against the NYIT team that they faced in the finals.  However, CSI avenged that pair of defeats with a 3-0 win to capture the conference title on Sunday, knocking off the top seed in the process. CSI took command of the matchup early in the Control game mode winning Round 1 by a score of 100-90 and Round 2 by a score of 100-99 in overtime. In Hybrid, CSI outpaced NYIT by moving the payload the entire length of the map in only 2 minutes and 12 seconds while NYIT failed to move the payload across the map during their round. In Round 3, both teams take turns escorting the payload to its destination. CSI played defense first and held NYIT to a push of 66.90 meters. As a result, CSI only had to escort the payload beyond that point on offense to win. With 1:29 remaining on the clock, CSI advanced past 66.90 meters and captured their first ever ECC Championship in the Overwatch series with a 3-0 series victory.

Things were a bit more dramatic when the Dolphins faced Farmingdale State for the Rocket League Championship on Monday. In the best of seven finals, the Dolphins took the win in the first game by a score of 2-1 in overtime. Farmingdale State responded with a 2-0 victory in Game 2 to even up the match at 1-1. In Game 3, the Dolphins once again took a narrow victory by a score of 2-1, and now the Dolphins led the match by that same score. However, their lead was once again short-lived as the Rams knotted up the score at two games apiece with a 2-1 victory in Game 4. From here, CSI would seize control behind a commanding 5-2 victory in Game 5. Needing a win to force a decisive seventh game, the Rams did not go down quietly. With the score even at 2-2 in game 6, the Dolphins scored the decisive goal just over three minutes into overtime to win the conference championship best-of-seven 4-2.

"These teams have showed remarkable resilience all throughout the season," said ESports Coordinator Alberto Sanchez. "I am so elated that the results of their hard work paid off in this fashion where these two teams were able to bring a pair of ECC Championship trophies back to CSI."

Speaking about what lies ahead for the program Sanchez continued, "we're eager to continue working with campus administrators and anyone else willing to listen about how important ESports is becoming here at CSI for these students. Students that are entering the program are expecting greater things from our school as more and more high schools around the country are developing ESports programs. Basic necessities such as an on campus facility are expected from students who are looking to become more involved with the campus and what it has to offer, and I believe ESports can play a big role in enhancing student life on campus and retaining current students at our college. Our teams will now take their finals and begin preparing for the Spring 2023 season. Hopefully we can see some teams compete on the regional and national championship stages this upcoming semester to further enhance the CSI brand."

ESports will return to action in 2023 beginning their Spring season in late-January or early-February.