Smith Dazzles Way into Madden Quarterfinals, Mckinney-Davis Bows Out in Semis
CEDAR VALLEY eSPORTS YOUTUBE CHANNEL
LANCASTER, Texas – Dallas College Cedar Valley eSports' Breanna Smith, "Kidxbree," advanced to the quarterfinals of the National Junior College Athletic Association eSports Tier 3 Madden 24 playoffs Wednesday night.
After receiving a first round playoff bye, Smith swept Catawba Valley Community College's "Assassincreed37," 3-0, in the best-of-5 second round series. Smith allowed only two touchdowns in the three games, recording a shutout in one, while surrendering a field goal in another in a dynamite gaming display in her first NJCAAe playoff appearance.
"I'm glad that I found out about this," Smith said of Dallas College's eSports program. "I've been playing Madden since Madden 2017. To know that I have the opportunity to compete and win, that's just something that makes me want to get better at the game. It also teaches me a lot of things. Watching football because that's my favorite sport to watch, I also pick up on things that can improve my gaming in Madden."
Smith advances to next week's quarterfinals 5 p.m. Wednesday when she will meet Seward County's "Dwayne644."
"Bree's ahead of the curve," third-year Dallas College eSports coach Marcus Woodard said. "She did kind of impress me with her game playing and the mechanics, kind of knowing how to process information and utilize information."
Resean Mckinney-Davis, "Skinneyxsauce," dropped his Madden Tier 1 national semifinal matchup, 3-0, to Northwestern Michigan College's "TrojanLegend 44." Mckinney-Davis fell to Heartland Community College's "ll-jxckson-ll," 3-0, in the consolation finals to finish fourth this fall.
"It's definitely been fun and competitive the whole time," said Mckinney-Davis, who adjusted from primarily using a PlayStation 4 to transitioning into a PS5, and began to gain more success in his second semester in Dallas College's eSports program. "Once I got the PS5, we started having different leaps of my ability playing the game. I'm still trying to work out more of the schematic kinks to the game."
Mckinney-Davis advanced to Wednesday's Tier 1 national semifinals after splitting matches in the regional competition.
"Sometimes Madden can be maddening," Mckinney-Davis said. "For the most part, even through all of that, it's still a play at a time, 'keep going, and take your time.'"
Cedar Valley's Darius Aycock, "Protegebeast," lost, 3-1, to Harrisburg Area Community College's "Eugene1987" in the Tier 3 playoffs.
Mckinney-Davis benefited from having better players around him, including Smith and Aycock.
"Practice isn't a cakewalk, so I really credit them for keeping me moving, and getting me sharper," Mckinney-Davis said.
With Cedar Valley's gaming team growing, and a few more numbers under Woodard, the competition has had a contagious effect within the Suns' circles. Smith and Mckinney-Davis had their share of practice battles, and that's made each other better.
"He's a pretty good Madden player, and there's been a lot of things that I have picked up on what he is doing," Smith said. "That has improved my game, and I hope he's done the same thing with me."
Woodard says Mckinney-Smith has room to improve, and if he found more time to put into becoming better at his gaming craft, maybe he could take the next step in the spring.
"I do see the growth," Woodard said. "The last couple weeks, reaching nationals and playing in the playoffs, I think he has tried to make strides as far as listening and making adjustments. The transition that he made coming from the PS4 to the PS5, not being as good mechanically at the game, and coming into the season and knowing most of the mechanics, to help him improve … his record's positive. That's just a testament to the time he has put in to get to the point he's at now."
Woodard, whose coached a national champion and three national semifinalists at Dallas College in his three years with the eSports program, has preached this concept of "Iron sharpens Iron" amongst his gamers.
"Make each other better every time you're in task with the other person," Mckinney-Davis said. "Make each other better, whether it's, 'Hey, there's an adjustment, I see you could make here.' Or, 'How about you start running this a little bit more?' So it's just kind of a think tank a lot of times when we're in shop and always trying to get better."
Smith attributes Cedar Valley's growth to Woodard's influences.
"I really appreciate that because sometimes I'll do the same things over and over again," she said. "He'll tell me, 'Stop doing this. Do this instead. And, 'Practice makes perfect.' Eventually, I'll stop doing that habit. He's a great coach, and for this to be my first year, it's really no complaints. I wouldn't want any other coach. I wouldn't want anybody else to tell me about the game because he knows what he's talking about."
Smith will have at least one more week to have Woodard in her ears as she prepares for the Tier 3 quarterfinals next week.
Mihn Khoi "Midas800" will play Catawba Valley Community College's Niste0110 5 p.m. Monday in the FIFA 23 semifinals.
"We'll be empowering all of them to come back next semester so we can make a positive push in the right direction," Woodard said, "so we can bring some more championships to Cedar Valley."