Florida State Esports advances to National Championship

Take notice, Esports world. Florida State is one game away from its second national championship in collegiate Splatoon. On Sunday, the team defeated UC Santa Cruz 5-4 in a best-of-nine set, advancing to the Collegiate Cephalopod Association's Division 7 National Championship.

FSU Goldies started by dropping the first game to UC Santa Cruz in Splat Zones, but responded by taking the next three games in a row in Tower Control, Rainmaker, and Clam Blitz. With a 3-1 lead, the Seminoles let UC Santa Cruz back in as they won their second Splat Zones game and another game in Tower Control.

A 3-3 tie brought it to match point on Clam Blitz in the Museum d'Alfonsino map, but UC Santa Cruz would push it to a game nine, with it being all on the line in Splat Zones on Shipshape Cargo Co. In a thrilling game nine where FSU brought it to one point away from a knockout, the Goldies allowed UC Santa Cruz to score 81 out of the 100 points to clinch the match.

In the last 10 seconds, FSU painted the zone and ran out the clock to punch its ticket to the national championship. FSU Splatoon advances for just the second time to the National Championship game in the CCA league. The last time they were there in 2023, they won it all.

Commentator inker2_ on the Twitch livestream was quoted as saying, "That set really had it all. No hyperbole to it. That was absolutely everything you could possibly want in a best-of-nine. FSU, knowing that they had a problem in Splat Zones, [they needed] to overcome [their] greatest challenge to deserve the finals. They are definitely deserving of their finals spot to go and take it home."

Kyon, the other commentator, also spoke on the match's intensity, "That was a fun one to watch," he said.

Player Revolution on advancing to the national championship put it best: "To be able to be out there representing Florida State, it’s amazing, but it can get pretty intense. There was a lot of pressure in this match, and there’s going to be more in the finals, but when it’s game time, you just have to clear your head out of all the noise and stay focused. That’s what I did here, and I think it made the difference in a few places for everyone to stay focused and go for the win."

Clover added to this, saying, "I’m really glad to be here for this. We’ve worked really hard and improved a lot since the start of the season, so this is a big testament to our growth. I’ll do my best to treat this next match like any other, since I always try to stay level-headed in a high-pressure match. Just watching the game back has my heart pounding. We really worked hard to make it work."

In his postgame interview, team captain Ghast told Kyon and Inker about saving the game, "It's always me telling myself that it's not over till it's over. No matter what the score is, always try your best."

The Goldies will play the University of Houston in a rematch of the group 3 championship game in the national championship. The championship game will be held on Sunday, March 19th at 8 p.m. ET. Fans can stay updated by following @FSUSplatoon on X.

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This article originally appeared on FSU Wire: FSU Esports: Splatoon team advances to CCA National Championship