POPLARVILLE, Miss. — A new era began last week at Pearl River as the Wildcat eSports program officially launched with its first-ever competitions.

"Our first week of competition was a great start for the program," head coach River Roderick said. "NBA 2K picked up a win, Madden went 1-1, and Fortnite split 2-2. Rocket League came up short, but our players showed a lot of potential across the board. This week was really about getting our feet wet, and I'm proud of how everyone competed. We're excited to build on this foundation moving forward."

The week opened Tuesday with Fortnite. Ethan Smith and Jeffery Jasper dropped their first match to Forsyth before rebounding to sweep Spoon River College 2-0. Ian Herring and Laird Walker also fell in their opener but bounced back with a hard-fought 2-1 victory over Marshalltown.

In Madden, Carson Freeman earned a 2-0 sweep over Clovis, while Alex Pentecost battled to the end before falling 2-1 against his opponent from Hinds.

The Rocket League team of Colton Kropp and Alex Arbeaux competed in a best-of-five against Heartland, ultimately coming up short in a 3-0 defeat.

Pearl River closed out its debut week in NBA 2K, where Jaxon Hunter outlasted Des Moines Area 2-1 in a best-of-three to secure the program's first solo-series victory.

NEXT UP
The Wildcats will compete each week Tuesday-Friday. Fortnite competes on Tuesday, Madden on Wednesday, Rocket League on Thursday and NBA 2K on Friday.