College Esports Player Of The Week: Tristn (Akron)

This year was supposed to represent the dominance of Northwood. Never before had we seen a school take on one esports with such dominance. However, the script was not written for the Timberwolves. It would be the Akron Zips that stood atop the pile at the end of the spring semester of Rocket League. But on the back of their start player, Tristan “Tristn” Roberts, the likes of UNT and LSU didn’t really stand a chance.

The True Powerhouse?

In the semifinal against UNT, Akron made a big time match look routine. Tristn’s teammate Buzz dominated the early offence with Tristn providing support the midfield. However, in the later rounds the eUnited player took over. Tristn started racking up the goals and assists started making UNT look foolish.

In the clinching match Tristn ended with 2 goals, 1 assist, 1 save and 5 shots. It was an amazing individual performance that all but assured we would get a match for the ages between Akron and Northwood. However, Northwood would completely collapse against LSU and log off early. With the stage was set for Akron to regain their crown.

The Throne Returns To Ohio

The Grand Finals unfortunately didn’t live up to the hype. Even though they dropped one game, the matches felt one-sided even in overtime. Akron constantly bombarded the LSU goal, Buzz dominated the “physical” play with key bumps and demos. And Tristn? Well he did Tristn things and took over the offence and completely blitzed through LSU’s attempts at defending.

The championship win solidifies Akron as the winningest Rocket League program in North America, and stifles the meteoric rise of Northwood. It also makes Tristn one of (if not THE) most decorated player in CRL history. He has three season titled, two conference titles, a PlayVS championship, a Collegiate Clash championship, Spring Showdown win and a Summer Series Championship. Quite a list for one so young.