Triton Esports SSBU gold team, from left, Daryl “Technition” Dianzon, Kameel “Bugs” Hutcherson, Team Captain Barron “Trix” Tranate, Maven “Stratagem” Dulana, and Ronee “Capstwo” Pangilinan.
The University of Guam’s Triton Esports team had two of its athletes make the top eight in the National Association of Collegiate Esports Community Cup playoffs and a team upgrading its rank.
Triton Esports SSBU gold team, from left, Daryl “Technition” Dianzon, Kameel “Bugs” Hutcherson, Team Captain Barron “Trix” Tranate, Maven “Stratagem” Dulana, and Ronee “Capstwo” Pangilinan.
The tournament was held on March 27 with standouts Barron “Trix” Tranate and Daryl “Technition” Dianzon were ready to compete. Dianzon walked away with third place, and Tranate took fourth place — placing them in the top 3% of collegiate Super Smash Bros, according to a release from the university.
“Making it this far feels amazing. This was a great experience overall, and I would love to play again at the next tournament — except this time, I’ll be shooting for the stars,” Tranate said in the release.
The victory comes after four athletes, including Dianzon and Tranate, finished within the top 25 in the nation in December 2021.
“I’m definitely happy about the result, but I feel that I could’ve performed better and won the whole tournament. I always want to strive to do better, not just for myself, but also to represent Guam and UOG better,” Dianzon said in the release.
The Triton Esports Super Smash Bros. gold team upgraded its rank last month, according to the release.
The Tritons beat San Jose University 2-0 on March 25, with Maven “Strategem” Dulana shining as the MVP of the match with a five-stock record. The Tritons got another win against the University of Houston with a final score of 3-0, according to the release.
“As a new player, I found my experience in the NACE competition interesting, challenging, and fun […]. I experienced a level of play that I haven’t faced before,” said student-athlete Kameel “Bugs” Hutcherson in a release. “Throughout the whole competition, I had a great time preparing for matches, playing, supporting my teammates, and watching all of our hard work pay off in the end.”
With more than 100 universities competing in the league, the SSBU gold team upgraded its rank from 32nd to 16th in the nation, according to the release.
“It was a privilege for me to see our athletes compete and place that high. While I’m not 100% satisfied with how we placed this time, we’ll make sure to do better in the future,” said Triton Esports coach Michael Park in the release.
