FTC Esports Kicks Off Spring Season
Two Smash Bros. Ultimate teams are in action as the program seeks more players.
By Rebecca Evangelist
FTC Esports is back in action. Currently, two Super Smash Bros. Ultimate teams are competing, identified as Team A and Team B. Other FTC Esports teams, such as Valorant, are currently inactive due to low roster numbers.
Team A is made up of talented, returning players: Richard “Lime” Myers, Justin “Gadgetboy” Morris, and Team Captain Anthony “Big Ant” Crivillaro. The Team B roster includes sophomore Jaden “XxSNOOPxX” Parisi, senior Matthew DeJesus, and new players, freshmen Jalen “Pinabuttah” Perkins, and Captain Tyree “T-Sizzle” Edwards.
About the Competition Both Super Smash Bros. Ultimate teams compete in the Eastern Division A of the ECAC (Eastern College Athletic Conference). The format is a 3v3 nine-stock Crew Battle, with teams fielding three to six players. The match is decided by a best-of-three format. There are also map bans (when a certain map is not played), with the home team having the first pick. After the map bans, team play begins as one player at a time competes in a 1v1. In the overall Crew Battle, whoever loses their match is eliminated. However, any lives that the winning player acquires can be used in future rounds.
The FTC Esports Season Has Started. On January 30th, the season began, and unfortunately, both Smash teams lost their matches. Team A lost to Southern Connecticut University’s SO CO Ultimate team, 2-0. And team B lost to the Farmingdale State Rams, with no score reported.
On February 6th, both teams were back in action. Starting warm-ups at 7 pm, Team A played in the Esports room while Team B played in the Mac Lab. The FTC Record Online sat in with Team A as they experimented with new characters and talked gameplay strategies before their match against the visiting Long Island University Sharks (LIU). Slightly after 8 pm, the private lobby unlocked, Team A did a lap test, and the game began. FTC Team A barely lost Round 1, even with wins by Big Ant and Gadgetboy. In Round 2, morale was high for the FTC Smash Bros. Team even though they were down a map to the tough LIU Sharks, who still had all their players available. Gadgetboy went 1-2, and Lime lost. The match ended with a final score of LIU- 2, FTC- 0.
During the fall semester season, this veteran FTC Smash Bros. team reached the second round of the playoffs, the highest achievement of an FTC Esports team. Even with losing the first two contests of this season, Team A believes they can make the playoffs again.
Over in the Mac Lab, Team B was very relaxed under the watchful eye of Coach Matthew DeJesus in their match against the home team, Dean College SSBU. Team B won Round 1 with Dr. Mario played by both Pinabuttah and T-Sizzle. In Round 2, Dr. Mario beat the first two characters, with T-Sizzle winning the final game to give Five Towns’ Team B the match, 2-0. Team B player, XxSNOOPxX, who recently returned to FTC Esports, was very pleased about the team win. And Team A was unanimous in complementing Team B. “Well, the one day we actually got to fight against them, they seemed pretty good, said Richard “Lime” Myers. Coach Matthew DeJesus was proud of both teams, saying, “I do think the squad we have right now is pretty strong, and I’m proud of every single one of them.”
The next match is on Monday, February 13th. Team A plays Siena Heights University, and Team B plays Fisher College.
The Future of FTC Esports Coach Matthew DeJesus has big plans for the future of FTC Esports. “As of right now, we want to include everybody that we can as far as the team. We want to get them competing. And I don’t want to break up the two Smash teams. But we’re looking to expand into multiple games, even if we have to switch divisions to play different games. We’re looking to have a fully vetted Esports team where we can play Valorant, Overwatch, and games like that.”
DeJesus also has some re-branding ideas for the team. “I want to have something new, something fresh, and show that Esports is back at Five Towns.” And as a senior graduating in May, he hopes to stay on as a future advisor.
How to join the team. The Esports team is recruiting new players and currently needs two more Super Smash Bros. Ultimate players. The team is also looking for students with experience in Overwatch 2, Valorant, Fortnite, Rocket League, NBA 2k, Fifa, and Madden. Anyone interested in joining the Esports team should follow the Esports team on Instagram @ftcesports and contact Coach Matthew DeJesus or team advisor Coach Thomas O’Keefe.
