HARRISBURG, PA – Harrisburg University’s (HU) decorated esports team, The HU Storm, is looking to bring home more gold after an action-packed weekend of online and in-person competition! The Storm spent the weekend going head-to-head with teams from across North America in VALORANT, ultimately securing their spot at an in-person event and winning gold.
Varsity VALORANT Qualifies for NACE Spring Grand Finals LAN
On the evening of Friday, April 11, The Storm’s varsity VALORANT team went up against Oklahoma Christian University in a match to determine who qualifies for the in-person NACE (National Association of Collegiate Esports) Spring Grand Finals at Full Sail University in Orlando, Florida.
The Storm swept the Eagles 2-0, swiftly securing a spot in the top-eight Grand Finals tournament.
Next, The Storm will travel to sunny Orlando and compete from April 24–27 against seven other top teams, including Cumberland University, Fisher College, Maryville University, Saint Clair College, University of Texas at Dallas, West Virginia University, and Winthrop University. Fans can show their support for The Storm on social media and by tuning in to the event’s live stream at Twitch.tv/NACEsports starting on April 24.
HU Storm VALORANT Teams Travel to Philly and Bring Home a Trophy
The Storm carried their momentum from Friday night into Saturday at the Mid-Atlantic Collegiate Series (MACS) VALORANT LAN in Philadelphia, hosted at Localhost Philly. The Storm’s varsity and junior varsity VALORANT teams both competed at the event.
Junior Varsity VALORANT
The HU Storm junior varsity VALORANT (JV VAL) team is comprised of students Caedmon Chatterton (Manager), Connor Coleman, Levi Crader, Jacob Layton (Manager), Kaleb Ly, Joshua Scott, and Daegan Thorne.
JV VAL notched some well-earned victories but ultimately finished the day with a record of 2-4.
HU Esports Management student and JV VALORANT student coach, Jacob Layton, shared: “This weekend was a great time with the JV team! We knew going in that we were going to be a lower-ranked team, but having a ‘just have fun’ mindset let us eke out a couple of wins against much better teams. As I like to say, the best way to get better is by playing against much better teams – and that’s certainly what we did!”
Full match results breakdown for JV VALORANT:
- vs. Drexel University:13-8 (W)
- vs. Northern Virginia Community College: 6-13 (L)
- vs. Northern Virginia Community College: 3-13 (L)
- vs. Temple University: 13-9 (W)
- vs. Rutgers University: 4-13 (L)
- vs. Rowan University: 1-13 (L)
Varsity VALORANT
Varsity VALORANT had a dominant showing at MACS, remaining undefeated. The team, made up of HU students Jeffery Hansen, Nythaniel Kline, Ethan Mamros, Evan Mamros, and Iyen Raju (Head Coach), faced teams from Philly and beyond, including Alvernia College, Temple University, and University of Pennsylvania.
The Storm continued their strong showing in a best-of-three Grand Final versus Rowan University, winning 2-1 to bring home the MACS VALORANT Trophy.
HU Storm Varsity Player and Computer & Information Sciences student, Jeffery Hansen, noted: “It was a really fun experience and overall helped us gain reps in a LAN environment. Knowing we’re the best in our region gives us confidence for both of our upcoming LANs in Florida and Texas.”
- vs. Rowan University: 13-1 (W)
- vs. George Mason University: 13-4 (W)
- vs. Alvernia University: 13-10 (W)
- vs. Northern Virginia Community College:13-4 (W)
- vs. Temple University: 13-7 (W)
- vs. University of Pennsylvania: 13-2 (W)
- vs. Rowan in Grand Finals (best of 3)
HU Storm Varsity VALORANT Places 2nd in College VALORANT East
Capping off a busy weekend for The Storm, the varsity roster took on Saint Clair College in the College VALORANT (CVAL) East Grand Finals. CVAL is the developer-run tournament series hosted by the Riot Games Riot Scholastic Association of America and ExitLag.
Saint Clair and The Storm met earlier in the CVAL upper bracket finals, where The Storm beat Saint Clair 2-0 and sent them to the lower bracket. Saint Clair made it back through the lower bracket into the CVAL East Grand Finals, where the two teams went head-to-head in a best-of-five matchup that went the distance.
The Storm started off with a strong performance, taking the first two maps 13-5 and 13-10. But Saint Clair wasn’t giving up without a fight and started a reverse sweep, taking the next two maps 0-13 and 7-13. With the series tied and both teams on series point, Saint Clair ultimately completed the reverse sweep, winning over The Storm 11-13 and taking the title of CVAL East Champions.
But The Storm’s CVAL season isn’t over yet! The team is preparing for the CVAL Championship tournament, starting April 19th, where they will face the top teams from each CVAL division for a chance to travel to the CVAL Championship, hosted in Raleigh, North Carolina, at NC State University.
Be sure to tune in and support The Storm starting on April 19 at Twitch.tv/HarrisburgUniversity.
The HU Storm Varsity Team Gears Up for Texas Tournament
The VALORANT varsity team is also preparing for another tournament, this time in Arlington, Texas. The Playfly Tournament of Champions will take place April 30–May 4 at Esports Stadium Arlington.
The Playfly Tournament of Champions will have top teams and runners-up from the Fall and Spring competition season from two of Playfly’s top divisions: Varsity Premier and Open Premier. Titles featured at the event include Call of Duty, Counter-Strike 2, League of Legends, Overwatch 2, Rainbow Six: Siege, Rocket League, Super Smash Bros. Ultimate, and VALORANT.
The Storm varsity VALORANT team heads to Texas to compete on April 30 and May 1; you can show your support for the team at Twitch.tv/Playflygg during their competition dates.
Want to know more about The Storm, how to become an esports athlete, or how to enroll in Harrisburg University’s unique Esports Management, Production, and Performance bachelor’s degree program? Be sure to follow HU Esports on X (Twitter), get in touch with our faculty, or start a conversation with Admissions today.
Photos by Andrew Trembly.
ABOUT HARRISBURG UNIVERSITY
Harrisburg University was recently recognized by US News & World Report as one of the nation’s most innovative colleges. HU is accredited by the Middle States Commission on Higher Education and is a private, nonprofit university offering bachelor’s and graduate degree programs in science, technology, engineering, mathematics, nursing, and other health science fields. For additional information about HU’s affordable, demand-driven undergraduate and graduate programs, please call 717.901.5146 or email Connect@HarrisburgU.edu. Stay updated by following Harrisburg University on LinkedIn, Instagram, Facebook, and X (Twitter).
