UPDATE:
Last night, our Esports league sent out a correction to the rankings and schedule for the Round of 32 in Super Smash Bros Ultimate. They had some technical issues where some adjustments and scores hadn't been properly updated in the system and thus weren't reflected in the final rankings. As a result, our Burnet Esports Super Smash Bros Ultimate Solos teams in the top 32 saw improvements in their rankings while our teams lower in the rankings generally fell in the rankings a few spots.
Xzavier Benjamin (Burnet Varsity #1, 8-0 record) improved one spot and is now ranked in 5th.
Murray Urofsky (Burnet Varsity #6, 7-1 record) improved two spots and is ranked 19th.
Cody Murders (Burnet Varsity #5, 7-1 record) improved one spot and is ranked 25th.
Ray Reid (Burnet Varsity #2, 7-1 record) improved one spot and is now ranked 26th.
Isaac Saldivar (Burnet Jr. Varsity #2, 4-4 record) dropped three spots to be ranked 81st.
John Elias (Burnet Varsity #3, 4-4 record) dropped two spots and is ranked 82nd.
Christopher Robertson (Burnet Jr. Varsity #1, 4-3 record) dropped two spots to be ranked 84th.
Brendon Gideon (Burnet Varsity #4, 4-4 record) dropped two spots to be ranked 87th.
Alejandra Garcia (Burnet Jr. Varsity #3, 3-5 record) saw no change in her rank, holding stead in 104th.
With the change in rankings in the top 32, resulting in a change in seeds, our match lineup for Friday's matches has been changed.
5th ranked Xzavier Benjamin (Burnet Varsity #1) faces the 28th ranked team, Sherman Leaper (7-2 record).
19th ranked Murray Urofsky (Burnet Varsity #6) faces the 14th ranked team, Martin Warriors E-Sports (SSBU 2) (7-1 record).
25th ranked Cody Murders (Burnet Varsity #5) faces the 8th ranked team, MVHS N.W Smash Solo (7-0 record).
26th ranked Ray Reid (Burnet Varsity #2) faces the 7th ranked team, Smash Solo: Garrett F. (7-1 record).
Round of 32 matches will be competed in C104 on Friday, April 21 at 4:45 PM.
Congratulations again to all of our players and their hard work this season. We wish all of our playoff players good luck in their matches.
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From Coach Trower:
In our “surprise” final week of our regular season, the Burnet Esports team generally experienced forfeits in our favor with only 2 of the 10 matches scheduled actually being competed. We celebrated our Senior Night and end-of-season celebration on Friday night where we honored our five seniors on their last match of the regular season. We also just received notification late this afternoon that four of our players are in the playoffs for Super Smash Bros Ultimate and will be competing this Friday, April 21st at 4:45 PM.
Our Rocket League team (2-5 record) faced Mt. Vernon High School team, MV Shawtys (4-3 record) on April 12th. Due to a last-minute conflict on the part of the Mt. Vernon team, they forfeited in our favor, allowing us to end our season with a 3-5 record and ranked 38th out of 49 teams.
In a season that started with technical issues causing us to forfeit our first two matches of the regular season, I am proud of how Haley Dal Porto, Murray Urofsky, Isaac Saldivar, John Elias, Xzavier Benjamin, and Ray Reid worked to try and come together as a team despite a disparity in experience and limited opportunities to practice working together. The fact that they showed some great offense and defense throughout the season once we were able to compete is phenomenal.
In the final matches of the season for Super Smash Bros Ultimate Solos, all nine of our players were set to compete on Friday. In conjunction with the final matches of the regular season, the Burnet Esports team held a party to celebrate the end of our regular season and to honor the seniors on the team for their Senior Night. In addition to the friends of the players that have been coming all season to cheer the team on, families of the seniors were also invited to join us for this special evening. Seniors were presented with an RGB keyboard pad and a custom Burnet Esports mousepad with their name and gamertag as well as walked away with one of five doorprizes of dorm/apartment friendly appliances.
The only matches that were competed were John Elias (BHS Varsity #3, 4-3 record) facing a highly ranked I.M. Terrell Academy for STEAM and VPA team, Panther – Ultimate_Gab (6-0 record) and Brendon Gideon (BHS Varsity #4, 4-3 record) who also faced a highly ranked I.M. Terrell Academy for STEAM and VPA team, Panther – Ultimate_Mar (6-0) record. Both players fought hard, but each fell in two straight rounds to lose their final matches of the season. With these loses, John and Brendon finished the season 4-4. John finished the season ranked 80th and Brendon finished the season ranked 85th.
We had one match where we had to take the forfeit in the opposing teams favor where Isaac Saldivar (BHS JV #2, 4-3 record) was set to face the Dr. Kirk Lewis Career and Technical High School team, Cosmic Knights A (1-4-1 record). With the forfeit on his part, he also dropped to a 4-4 record to finish the season. Isaac finished ranked 78th for the season.
The remaining six matches all resulted in forfeits in our favor:
Christopher (BHS JV #1, 3-3 record) was scheduled to face the West Oso High School team, West Oso High School William Spring 2023 (1-6 record). With the forfeit in his favor, his record improved to 4-3 to finish the season. Christopher finished the season ranked 82nd. As a fairly new player to the game, we are proud of his accomplishments this season.
Alejandra Garcia (BHS JV #2, 2-5 record) was set to face the Benbrook Middle-High School team, Benbrook Smash Brothers (6-1). With the player being out on Friday resulting in a forfeit in our favor, her record improved to 3-5 for the season. Alejandra barely missed being in the top 100 teams, finishing the season in 104th. For a player that was brand new to the game, we are really proud of her accomplishments.
Xzavier Benjamin (BHS Varsity #1, 7-0 record) was due to face the West Oso High School team, West Oso High School Junior Spring 2023 (0-5 record). With the forfeit in his favor, he ended the season with a perfect 8-0 record, one of only 8 teams in the state to have a perfect 8-0 record this season. Xavier is highly ranked going into the playoffs as the 6th seed in the Round of 32.
Ray Reid (BHS Varsity #2, 6-1 record) was set to face the Vidor High School team, Ryan H. VHS Smash (4-3 record). The forfeit in his favor improved his record to end the season 7-1. Ray is ranked as the 27th seed in the Round of 32.
Cody Murders (BHS Varsity #5, 6-1 record) was scheduled to face the Benbrook Middle-High School team, Benbrook Smash Brothers 2 (4-3 record). Due to the player being out on Friday which resulted in the forfeit in his favor, he finished the season with a 7-1 record. Cody is ranked as the 26th seed in the Round of 32.
Murray Urofsky (BHS Varsity #6, 6-1 record) was set to face the Uvalde High School team, UHS eSports Alpha (1-6 record). With the forfeit in his favor, he finished the season 7-1. Murray is ranked as the 21st seed in the Round of 32.
Out of 170 teams that finished the season, Burnet High School had four players that placed in the top 32. These players are: Xzavier Benjamin (ranked 6th), Murray Urofksy (ranked 21st), Cody Murders (ranked 26th), and Ray Reid (ranked 27th). Of the 17 schools represented in the top 32, both Burnet CISD and Sherman ISD have four top 32 teams with only Center Point ISD having more top 32 teams with five teams.
In the Round of 32, 6th ranked Xzavier Benjamin (Burnet Varsity #1, 8-0 record) faces 27th ranked Ray Reid (Burnet Varsity #2, 7-1 record), 21st ranked Murray Urofsky (Burnet Varsity #6, 7-1 record) faces the 12th ranked I.M. Terrell Academy for STEAM and VPA team, Panther – Ultimate_Mar (7-0 record), and 26th ranked Cody Murders (Burnet Varsity #5, 7-1 record) faces the 7th ranked I.M. Terrell Academy for STEAM and VPA team, Panther – Ultimate_Gab (7-0 record). The Round of 32 playoffs will be April 21st at 4:45 PM. Players that advance to the Round of 16 will compete on April 28th at 4:45 while the Final 8 will compete for the state championship on May 7th. During the first two rounds of playoffs, our players will continue to compete in C104 at Burnet High School while the state championship will be competed at the Arlington Esports Arena in Arlington, Texas.
Great job to all of our players for a great season. Coach Gonzales and I are very proud of all of the members of the inaugural Burnet Esports team and their sportsmanship, dedication, and commitment to the team. While the season may not have ended as some players may have hoped, every one of them gave there all every match. All of our players gained experience competing in a competitive setting. We look forward to cheering on our players that made it into the playoffs as they aim for the state championship. If you see any of the Burnet Esports team, please congratulate them on their successful season and wish the four players that are advancing to the playoffs good luck this week.
Go Bulldogs!