Auburn, ME – The Mustangs Esports Call of Duty team had their long spring season in Black Ops 6 come to an end last week, finishing a busy schedule competing in ECAC, College COD League, and CXP. Central Maine put together an impressive showing on the national stage, finishing in at least the top 12 in all three competitions and being ranked in the top 10 for the season across all college teams.
The week started early on Monday with the ECAC Division A championship against the #1 ranked team in the country. The Falcons flexed their muscles and capped an undefeated season by defeating the Mustangs 4-0 in the best-of-seven series. Fisher's varsity team featured former pros such as "BrackCN" and "Phantomz", as well as newly turned pro "DillonWrecks" and top amateur talent "darksived".
CMCC, who has been strong in hardpoint all season long, nearly took the first map on Skyline in a nail-bitingly close round that ended 250-249. The Mustangs squad, made up of Caden "Asylum" Bedney, Ethan "EthanCOD" Deneau, Idelmaro "Delo" Andrade, and Ihzayah "Zay" Marcellus then pushed Fisher hard in map two search and destroy on Dealership before falling 6-4. The Falcons seized on the early momentum to finish the match and the championship off, winning control on Vault 3-1 before a 250-153 victory in hardpoint on Red Card to complete the sweep. The runner-up effort for the ECAC title is Central Maine's best finish in the Call of Duty competition.
Fisher is also in the final four for the College COD League LAN event held in San Antonio, TX next month. The Mustangs took three wins in the 32-team, double elimination national bracket in mid-April before being eliminated by #4 seeded Oklahoma Christian University, another of the national semifinalists. CMCC still had a fantastic showing in CCL, finishing in the top 12 and among the best collegiate programs in the country.
That left the team with one competition remaining, the College XP Playoffs played over the weekend. The Mustangs booked their place in the prize-filled competition thanks to their finishes in the CXP majors held over the course of the spring. Central Maine came into the eight-team event seeded #2 and started things off with a 3-1 victory over the Dakota State Trojans.
Next up in the bracket was another showdown with rival Mars Hill University. The #3 seeded Lions had battled the Mustangs in multiple competitions over the course of the semester, trading wins back-and-forth. Mars Hill would come out on top in this final battle, 3-2 to send Central Maine to the loser's bracket. There they faced #1 overall seed Newberry College who had been upset in the first round by Oklahoma Christian University. Newberry would eliminate CMCC 3-0, with OCU ultimately winning the whole tournament.
However, the Mustangs Esports season is not officially over just yet. The Super Smash Bros Ultimate team will cap off the year on Saturday, April 26th at the Maine Esports Collegiate Association LAN hosted by Thomas College in partnership with NECC.
