Concordia (Texas) Earns Second Consecutive Esports Showdown Title

Concordia (Texas) Earns Second Consecutive Esports Showdown Title

SUWANEE, Ga. -- At this year's SCAC Esports Showdown, which was held as a virtual event for the second consecutive year, Concordia University (Texas) earned its second straight conference crown and third overall, winning this year's championship via a tiebreaker over Colorado College.

The Tornados, who shared the 2024 title with Colorado College, also earned a share of the 2021 championship.

This year's virtual competition, which was held over three weeks in November and December, saw Concordia University (Texas) and Colorado College both finish with seven total team points. The league's tiebreaker language, which compares overall placements and awards the school with the most high placements, provided the edge to Concordia as the Tornados had one first-place finish (Valorant) to no first-place finishes for Colorado College.

"Our team showed immense talent, resilience, and improvement throughout the season." said Concordia head coach Gabe Palomares. "I can only dream of what this next semester holds for us."

Rounding out the 2025 Showdown team standings, Austin College, Hendrix, Schreiner, and St. Thomas each tied for third place with four team points. McMurry and Southwestern did not score.

This year's event, which is the seventh since the conference started sponsoring Esports in 2019, was the second to be played in the fall as the league's Esports coordinators decided to move to a fall schedule effective the 2024 Showdown to free teams up for regional and national competition in the spring.

When the decision to move to a virtual format was adopted prior to 2024, it was done with the intent to conduct an in-person event every three years. The 2026 Showdown is scheduled to be an in-person event and will be conducted at a site yet to be determined.

Recapping the 2025 Showdown, teams engaged in competition across three games - Valorant, Super Smash Bros. Ultimate Crew and Marvel Rivals.

In Valorant competition, the quarterfinal round produced 3-0 sweeps in all three matches as Austin College defeated McMurry University, Colorado College advanced past Hendrix College and Schreiner University swept Southwestern University. In the semifinal round, Concordia (Texas), which as the top seed had earned a first-round bye, defeated Austin College 3-0, and Colorado College swept Schreiner by the same 3-0 score. Schreiner bounced back to earn a 3-1 victory over Austin College in the third-place match and Concordia (Texas) pulled out a 3-2 victory over Colorado College in the championship match. It was the third straight year the two had met in the Valorant finals, but CTX prevailed for its first victory in the game after two consecutive runner-up finishes.

In Super Smash Bros. Crew, Hendrix College earned its first team title in the game and just its second championship in individual gaming competition since joining the SCAC prior to the 2020-21 season. The Warriors won the League of Legends title at the 2022-23 Showdown. After earning a first-round bye as the league's top seed, Hendrix swept Concordia (Texas), 7-0, in the semifinal round before defeating Colorado College by the same 7-0 score in the championship. Colorado College, who also earned a first-round bye, had advanced to the title round after a 2-0 victory over Schreiner in the semifinals. The runner-up finish for CC marks the fifth consecutive year the Tigers have taken home the silver in the Super Smash competition. Schreiner defeated Concordia (Texas), 4-0, in the third-place match.

Marvel Rivals made its inaugural Showdown appearance as the third and final game title to be contested over the three weekend championship bracket. Concordia (Texas), Austin College and Colorado College all advanced out of the semifinal round with 3-0 sweeps of their opponents in the best-of-five competition. In the semifinals, top-seeded University of St. Thomas defeated Concordia (Texas), 3-0, and Austin College squeaked past Colorado College, 3-2, to set up a #1 versus #2 seed for the Marvel Rivals title. St. Thomas prevailed over Austin College, 3-0, to earn the first team title contested in the game while Concordia (Texas) defeated Colorado College, 3-1, in the third-place match - a result which clinched the overall team trophy for the Tornados.

In Super Smash Bros. singles competition, which did not factor in the team scoring, Schreiner players took the top two spots with Meep earning gold and Pineapple placing second for the silver. Theron Johnson from Hendrix took home the bronze medal.

SCAC Tennis Media Days
February 13, 2026 SCAC Tennis Media Days
Fall Sports - Champions Stores
November 18, 2025 Fall Sports - Champions Stores
Football Championship Store
November 18, 2025 Football Championship Store
SCAC Basketball Media Days
October 29, 2025 SCAC Basketball Media Days
SCAC Fall Media Days - 2025
August 29, 2025 SCAC Fall Media Days - 2025