Greenwood, S.C. - In just 4 weeks after their season opener, Lander Esports has kicked off their 26-27 campaign with 72 games, winning 60 of them. The Bearcats sit atop the standings in 12 of their 16 seasons, with the other seasons all sitting within the top 3.

At a pace of 18 games per week so far, Head Coach Billy Howard is pleased with the start. "By other's standards, we've had almost as good of a start as we could have. We had a few games that got away from us where if we keep our focus, we could absolutely be looking at 65 wins instead of 60. We'll fix that as we move ahead but really proud of the teams for what they have accomplished so far." Along with their hot start, the team also sported a 3.0 GPA at midterms, showing their commitment to excellence in the classroom. 

Why so many games? Lander's esports team is not just one team like basketball or soccer, it houses multiple different game titles and different skill tiers within each game. "In essence, it's structured like an entire athletic department but on a much smaller scale. We don't just recruit a 'gamer', we recruit specialists in each game title that we offer to fill a specific role that we need." Howard said.

Within Valorant and Rivals, Lander runs two teams, each at different skill levels. They have their own seasons, their own practices, but occasionally can end up on each other's schedules depending on the tournament. "We've had a Lander vs. Lander matchup before. You'll never believe this, but Lander won," Howard joked "We could see it again twice this year in playoffs. We have two teams in two different games that are competing in the same conference. The goal there is to get a Lander vs. Lander championship. I think it really goes to show the depth that we have and how we operate at such a high level."

Premier Valorant (13-2 overall)
NECC - 4-0, T-1st place
SEL - 5-2, T-1st place (Tied with Auburn, Tennessee, Kentucky, UCF, Texas Tech)
C3 - 4-0, 1st place (Tied with UNC Wilmington)

Academy Valorant (6-2 overall)
NECC - 4-0, 1st place
C3 - 2-2, T-2nd place

Varsity Rocket League (16-6 overall)
NECC - 4-1, 1st place
C3 - 2-1, T-2nd place
SEL - 5-1, T-1st place (Tied with Brewton-Parker, Georgia Tech, Texas Tech)
Gateway - 4-1, T-2nd place
Peach Belt - 2-2, T-3rd place

Varsity Rivals (9-2 overall)
NECC - 4-0, T-1st place (Tied with Florida Southern and UNC Charlotte)
Gateway - 2-0, T-1st place (Tied with Lander JV, USC Sumter)
Peach Belt - 3-2, T-3rd place

JV Rivals (16-0 overall)
NECC - 4-0, 1st place
Gateway - 6-0, T-1st place (Tied with Lander Varsity, USC Sumter)
Peach Belt - 6-0, 1st place (one win away from claiming regular season title)

The Bearcats will be back in action with 18 more games this week.