EUGENE, Ore. – Christian Velazquez and David Sollid finished off an impressive season with a fourth-place finish at the Fortnite Collegiate Championship, a National Association of Collegiate Esports tournament.

The Beacons entered the Championship after a dominant showing in the West Regional Opens, taking second in the first qualifier before finishing with back-to-back first-place finishes. The top-four teams from each Regional Qualifier, East and West, earned direct bids to the Collegiate Championship. Bushnell finished with the highest point total of any team in the West during the three qualifying rounds.

The Collegiate Championship consisted of six matches with teams earning points based on placement and eliminations. Velazquez and Sollid competed with a field of 42 qualifying teams from across the United States and Canada, tallying 100 points (78 placement, 22 eliminations).

Director of Esports Elyse Crichton said, "This is a huge accomplishment for these guys. I am impressed David was able to join Christian as a duo partner almost seamlessly. Their slow and steady play strategy worked really well in the West Qualifiers and in the Championship games. They stayed relatively under the radar and placed consistently high in the end game by prioritizing placement points over eliminations. Christian has been a steady performer and adds this year's fourth place finish to his fifth place finish last year. We are excited and hopeful to see continued success from our Fortnite team."

Bushnell fell behind early after an 11^th and 9^th place finish in the opening two matches. Despite the low finish in the second match, the Beacons combined for seven eliminations to improve their standing. The Beacons did not finish under fifth place the remainder of the way, taking fifth, second, fifth and third in the next four matches. 

Bay State College won the tournament, tallying 156 points on the afternoon with four Victory Royales. St. Clair College (124) placed second and Keiser University Sarasota (117) took third. Bushnell finished just ahead of Ashland University (96).

The Beacons were the top finishers in the West Region.