–Maggie Borland
With the football season postponed, there seems to be a hole in many students’ hearts and schedules, with no idea how to fill it. Well, we have good news for everyone. Though the sports season may be delayed, the esports season is not. So, let’s talk about the main Valorant league Boise State will be competing in: The NACE Valorant Fall Cup.
NACE is the big leagues of collegiate esports. Boise State currently has two teams competing in this league, which has three stages—regular season group stage, postseason tournament stage, and postseason championship match. Let’s break down the schedule and how each stage will work.
Regular Season Group Stage:
- Starts September 30th
- Matches are every Wednesday at 6pm MST for five weeks
- Best of 3 map series
- 50 participating schools
- Bottom 2 teams from each group will be eliminated*
Boise State’s first Valorant team is in group F with five total schools: Dakota State University, Dakota Wesleyan University, Mayville State University, and Bushnell University. Their schedule is as follows:
- September 30th: Dickinson State University
- October 7th: Dakota Wesleyan University
- October 14th: Mayville State University
- October 21st: BI WEEK (no games played)
- October 28th: Bushnell University
Our second Valorant team is in group B with 6 total schools: Chadron State College, University of Central Missouri, University of Missouri, Cottey College, and Spoon River College . Their schedule is as follows:
- September 30th: University of Missouri
- October 7th: Spoon River College
- October 14th: Cottey College
- October 21st: Chadron State College
- October 28th: University of Central Missouri
It should be noted that though these games will be played on Wednesdays, they will be streamed at a later date (new COVID policies to keep our production crew safe). This is the schedule for the near future, but here is a run through of the remaining stages as well..
Postseason Tournament Stage:
- Start Wednesday, November 4th at 6pm MST
- Top 32 schools from group stages
- Bracket style tournament
- Best of 3 map series
- Schedule:
- November 4th (32 teams)
- November 6th (16 teams)
- November 7th (8 teams)
- November 11th (4 teams)
We plan on seeing both of our Valorant teams compete in the postseason tournament stage (obviously), and we’ll keep you updated about their successes along the way. You can also follow along for the ride at Twitch.tv/BoiseStateUniversity.
Postseason Championship Match
- November 13th-15th
- Top 2 teams
- Best of 7 map series
Well, there you have it. The NACE Valorant Fall Cup for 2020. Here at Boise State we’re all excited to watch our new teams grow with this game and we hope you’re excited for the journey. Both teams are also competing in other weekly leagues and tournaments, which we’ll be sure to give you a rundown of when they get closer. Until then, we’ll see you on the blue turf (stream backgrounds still count).