Four Teams, Three Schools Win Special CECC Texas Qualifier, Earn Bids to CECC May Madness

Stamford, CT – April 15, 2025 – The University of Texas at Dallas, the University of North Texas, and Lubbock Christian University have earned bids to play in the Collegiate Esports Commissioner’s Cup (CECC) May Madness by winning their respective game titles in this year’s special CECC Texas Qualifiers tournament.

CECC May Madness, established in 2022, gives 84 teams in four different game titles (Overwatch 2, Rocket League, Valorant, Super Smash Bros. Ultimate) and 12 players in Street Fighter 6, a chance to face other schools from across North America and one team or player in each game are crowned as national champions.

The CECC Texas Qualifiers entered its third year of action and was a two-day online tournament from Apr. 5-6 for eight teams in four competitions - Overwatch 2, Rocket League, Super Smash Bros. Ultimate, and Valorant. The competition was open only to Texas colleges who have not yet earned a bid to CECC May Madness.

The University of Texas at Dallas (UT Dallas) earned two of the four bids by having teams win in both Valorant and Overwatch 2. In the Valorant double-elimination bracket, UT Dallas earned the No. 1 seed and did not drop a single map through three best-of-three matches, which included the finals where the main team defeated the other UT Dallas team ‘Eclipse’ 2-0 and earned the program’s first bid to CECC May Madness in Valorant. 

In Overwatch 2, the team went perfect in its two matches in group A with no maps dropped in the best-of-five matches. In the playoff bracket, UT Dallas would defeat Texas A&M University 3-2 and defeated Blinn College 3-1 in the grand finals to earn the team’s second bid to CECC May Madness.

“Our team is super excited to be competing this year, we've been working super hard and it's exciting to put it to the test,” said Noureen Hoq, UT Dallas’ Overwatch 2 team manager. “CECC is a chance for teams across the continent to compete and find out who really ranks above the others. It's a time for crazy upsets to happen and for people to cheer each other on in person. It's a super cool opportunity and we're stoked to be a part of it. Winning that title would mean everything to us - staking our claim as not just the best team in Texas, but the best team in the country.”

The single-elimination bracket in Rocket League showed Lubbock Christian University as the No. 1 seed. In the eight team field, the competition started with a 4-0 series win over St. Mary’s University in the quarterfinals, a 4-1 series win over UT Dallas, and a 4-0 series win over University of North Texas (UNT) in the grand finals to earn the team’s second straight title in the CECC Texas Qualifier and second straight bid to CECC May Madness.

While UNT did lose in the grand finals in Rocket League, the program was able to earn a bid through Super Smash Bros. Ultimate. In the eight team double-elimination bracket, the No. 1 seed won three straight series before making it to the best-of-five grand finals against UT Dallas’ team where they would win 3-1 and earn the team’s first bid in CECC May Madness.

The three schools have earned their bids to CECC May Madness 2025, set to take place May 2-4 at Esports Stadium Arlington in Texas, renowned as the largest in-person scholastic esports event in North America. The 2024 event attracted over 4 million views and 4,100 attendees, and the upcoming 2025 event marks the fifth year of CECC's celebration of collegiate esports excellence.

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Article Written by:

Keegan Ohta