The Hurricanes Esports teams set the tone for what's to come in their first season back in competition in the NJCAAE. The Canes competed in various game titles this 2023 fall season to include; Call of Duty, Fortnite, Mario Kart, Madden, and Super Smash Bros. Ultimate.  The NJCAAE offers three tiers of competition; Tier 1 Premier Series (PS), Tier 2 Contender Series (CS), and Tier 3 Open Series (OS). Multiple student/athletes had success over the course of the season across all series.

     Seth Apollos finished 2nd in his division behind Northwest Michigan College (who won the Super Regionals) in regular season play in Madden PS defeating powerhouses like Iowa Western and Bryant & Stratton to earn a 2nd seed in postseason play in the Super Regionals.  Apollos was knocked out in the Quarterfinals of the Super Regionals by Heartland CC.  The first game ended in a close 28-27 loss in double overtime.  The second game was a similar scoreline of 17-14 in double OT again and Seth lost the final game 14-3 ending his tournament run. 

      Our Fortnite Red and Navy teams  finished the season 8th & 12th respectively in Build and 20th & 35th respectively in No Build in the Open Series.  Red and Navy teams consisted of Kareem Clarke, Jemal McClure, Oliver Cervantes, Seth Apollos, and Desomnd Gaither.  Navy's Oliver and Desmond were seeded #9 in Build playoffs getting knocked out the first round by #8 Spoon River College. In No Build, Navy was seeded #26 and lost to #7 Hutchinson CC in the first round of postseason play.  Kareem, Jemal, and Seth lead the Hurricanes Red squad in an exciting Build and No Build playoff tournament.  For Builds, Red was seeded #7th.  They made it past the first round easily deafeting #10 Pratt CC 3-0 but, lost in the second round to #2 Union College 3-1 ending their tournament run for Fortnite Builds OS.  Seeded #16 out of 30 qualifying teams in No Build, the Red team had a long night of matches ahead of them on 11/27.   Red managed to pass #17 Central Wyoming in the first round at 6:00pm, upset #1 Johnston Community College in the second round at 7:30pm, and move past #24 Pensacola State College in the Quarterfinals at 9:00pm, solidfying their birth for a shot at the 2023 Fall National Championship the following week with the Semifinals and Finals on 12/4.  Louisburg loss 3-1 to Northwest College in the Semifinals at 6:00pm in a best of 5 series. They loss the following third place match at 7:30pm against Hutchinson Community College 3-1.  The Fall National Championship went to Missouri State University-West Plains.

      Cameron Shipp finished his Contender Series Mario Kart season tied for 13th.  He qualified for postseason play seeding 20th.  Shipp made it past the first round defeating #13 Highland CC in a close 4-3 best of 7 series in 1v1.  Cameron was knocked out in the second round against #4 Marshalltown CC losing 4-2 ending his playoff run for Fall Nationals Mario Kart CS. 

      Travis Evans finished 19th on the season in Mario Kart Open Series and 4th in his division with Super Smash Bros. Ultimate (SSBU)  Evans was knocked out in the first round against #6 Northwest Florida State College in SSBU.  Travis qualified for postseason play and was seeded 15th out of 35 qualifying schools in Mario Kart OS.  He was knocked out in the second round by #18 Marshalltown CC with a score of 4-2. 

      Tyler Quinn also competed in post season play in Mario Kart OS. He finished the regular season in 33rd of 67 and was seeded 25th for playoffs. Quinn made it to the second round of tournament play losing to #8 North Arkansas College in a close 4-3 match that came down to the last race.

      The Mario Kart 4v4 squad (Jemal, Tyler, Travis, and Cameron) and Fortnite Red (Kareem and Seth) attended to two seperate tournaments hosted by Carolina Games Summit.  One at the Peach Belt Conference in Florance, SC and another in Goldsboro, NC.  Cameron Shipp finished 2nd place in SC and 3rd place in NC in Mario Kart.  Travis Evans finished in 3rd place in SC for Mario Kart.  Kareem Clarke placed 3rd in SC for Fortnite and Seth Apollos finished 2nd in NC for Fortnite.

     "I have high expections for our program, our players for next season, and our future.  With so many players making it to post season play in various game titles and tiers, they've really set the bar high for the '24 spring season and all those who follow in their footsteps.  I cannot say enough of how proud I am of these gentlemen, both here in the Esports Arena and in the classroom.", Coach Statum exclaims about the Esports team and their success in the their first season back to competing.  Make sure to follow your Hurricanes Esports to watch and support their '24 Spring Season.