Boise State had an incredible showing in the Spring 2023 Mountain West Overwatch Championships. For the third consecutive year, Boise State took home the championship title. Boise State faced longtime rival UNLV in the grand championship, held last Saturday on April 8.
Boise State has a long history with UNLV. The Broncos met the ULNV Rebels for the first time during the Mountain West Esports Showdown exhibition match in 2017. Since then, both teams faced off against each other in the Mountain West championships for the past 6 years. UNLV dominated the Mountain West championships from 2018-2020, beating the Broncos convincingly year after year. 2021 was the year it all changed for the Broncos. During that pivotal match, Boise State narrowly won against the Rebels in the fifth and final game of a best of five, winning the championship for the first time. Since then, the Broncos have remained the champions of the Mountain West.
This year’s win proved to be much more dominant for the Broncos. The best of five match was swept in just three rounds for Boise State. This improvement in performance isn’t just due to the many years of experience the program now has. The win can also be attributed to top collegiate talent recruited to the Broncos in the past few years. The mixture of fresh new talent and years of coaching experience has proved to be an electric combination for the Broncos.
The next step for the Broncos will be defending their champion title in the NACE Starleague Overwatch tournament. With multiple national trophies now lining the Bronco’s trophy case, Boise State remains the team everyone wishes to beat.
Written by Jacob Palmer.