NAIT’s Valorant team is off to a hot start in National Esports Collegiate Conference spring 2023 season. NAIT currently ranks second overall in the Challengers Heartland division and currently has the best map win-loss ratio, having gone 2-0 in every win and the best round differential. Their only loss on the season so far is to the undefeated Dickson State Bluehawks. It hasn’t been an easy road for this team as in the winter 2022 College Valorant season, head coach and member of NAIT’s IT team Aidan Nilsson said they didn’t have an easy task. “We were seeded in the top group, so we had the winners from last CVAL that we were having to play against.” Despite that, NAIT just missed moving on to the group phase finishing third as the top two teams advance.
NAIT’s Valorant team currently consists of five regulars and two substitutes. Nilsson says they plan on hosting tryouts to get more players. “In the future, we are going to have people graduate. So we would be hosting tryouts and trying to improve the roster for sure. We are in the process of trying to get a secondary team, so five more players to play on a lower-tier team. “
Aidan thinks he potentially has the edge over other coaches as he games in his free time. “I play Valorant, so it’s easier for me to coach.
NAIT’s hoping to rebound in the CVAL spring 2023 season. Aidan says, “the first phase is like a group phase. You get seeded into like a certain group. Then if you make it out of groups, phase two, which is playoffs, the top 32 and then the semifinals and finals. And if you make it to finals, you get to go to the college championships, which is in Los Angeles. And all of these different CVAL tournaments are technically qualifiers for that college championship.” The 2023 championship is scheduled to start on May 6th, so this will be the final chance for NAIT to qualify this year.
For more information, check out NAIT’s official esports discord.
