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đź“ť Top 8 confirmed for OWCC Varsity Playoffs

by Jesse "Twinsalty" Brawders

The Overwatch Collegiate Championship - Varsity playoffs continued throughout this week, as the Top 16 fought for their spots at the NACE Grand Finals LAN later this month.

cover image for OWCC Varsity top eight

After a relatively tame start to the playoffs, several matches against teams across the Top 25 created some heated games to qualify for LAN.

Round of 16 results:

  • Winthrop 3-0 Shawnee State
  • St. Clair 3-0 Minnesota State - Mankato
  • NC State 3-2 Akron
  • Cumberland 3-1 Oakland
  • Bellevue 3-1 Kent State
  • UT Dallas 3-0 Texas Tech
  • TAMUSA 3-1 Cleveland State
  • Briar Cliff 3-1 Ball State

First reaction:

The sole upset of the Round of 16 was not the one many expected, as a struggling TAMUSA shocked the league and eliminated Cleveland State from the playoffs.

Cleveland State were seeded by the NACE Seeding Committee three spots above TAMUSA at No. 7, following a perfect record through the Union 10 Conference and several wins over Oakland. On the other side, TAMUSA did not win a single match during the Superconference regular season after a strong fall semester.

But sometimes in the playoffs, wild things can happen. TAMUSA started off strong and never looked back in a 3-1 win, marking the Jaguars’ first win in OWC Varsity since November 6, 2025. Coincidentally, that was when they upset UT Dallas in a sweep to earn their spot in the Superconference this spring.

It was an incredible result for the Jaguars after most teams had counted them out of the picture for qualifying for LAN. On the flip side, it is a devastating exit for Cleveland State.

The Vikes have slowly risen through the power rankings with solid wins in other competitions, including a runner-up finish at the Kentucky Bluegrass LAN last weekend. But with some roster shifts due to eligibility, CSU was not able to respond to TAMUSA’s unique style.

It is without a doubt a disappointing finish for Cleveland State as they hoped to make some noise in Orlando.

Across the rest of the round, Briar Cliff fended off Ball State in the match of the No. 8 and No. 9 seeds. It was a bit of a scare for the Chargers after they barely missed a top-six seed due to map-record tiebreakers.

And on paper, NC State’s 3-2 win over Akron appears a bit too close for the Wolfpack’s normal level. But according to the match’s score report on the OWC site, DPS standout Matthew “Lobby” Stevens was not able to play, forcing some pivots across the roster. NC State won’t worry about it too much about this bump in the road once they have their full roster on LAN.

Looking ahead:

The final eight teams will now have some time to reset before the next phase of the season begins in three weeks.

Each team will finish the season at the NACE Grand Finals LAN in Orlando, Florida, on April 25 and 26. They will be split into two groups of four in a double-elimination format.

The top two teams from each group will then be slotted into a single-elimination playoff bracket. All games except the Grand Finals will be FT3, with the finals an FT4.

It is currently unknown if TAMUSA will keep the No. 7 seed after beating Briar Cliff, or if they will fall to No. 8 and Briar Cliff would rise one spot. If NACE decides to follow last season’s format, then TAMUSA would hold onto the No. 7 seed.

According to one member of the NACE Competition Council, the council will discuss how to move forward during its meeting next week.

As of now, the groups for the next phase will be the following:

Group A:

  • Winthrop
  • Cumberland
  • Bellevue
  • No. 8 seed (TAMUSA/Briar Cliff)

Group B:

  • St. Clair
  • NC State
  • UT Dallas
  • No. 7 seed (TAMUSA/Briar Cliff)

This will be the first official OWC LAN event since the OWCC Spring Playoffs in 2019, when Harrisburg University defeated the University of Utah in the finals in Houston, Texas.

Winthrop remains the favorite following an undefeated record through the spring semester in the tournament, but don’t count teams like St. Clair, NC State, Cumberland, and Bellevue to make some noise.

Following the OWWC Open Playoffs a few weeks ago, the Grand Finals will also be played at the LAN between Winthrop and Northwood.

Portions of the tournament will be streamed throughout the weekend, but it is currently unknown which rounds will be streamed.