Victoria Arredondo
Managing Editor
This story was updated at 5:00 p.m. April 7 to include Hope Trinidad’s quotes about the TAMU Showdown.
The Texas A&M University-San Antonio Overwatch esports team will compete in Ontario, Canada, after placing second in the A&M System Showdown for Overwatch 2 on Feb. 22.
A&M-San Antonio’s esports team will travel to St. Clair College in Windsor for The Saints Gauntlet series from April 11-13.
The competition is a collegiate invitational series that will feature six game titles: Overwatch 2, Valorant, Call of Duty, League of Legends, Rocket League and Super Smash Bros. Ultimate.
Tyler “Just” Dowden, 19, cybersecurity sophomore, who has been a gamer for 14 years, is part of the Overwatch group headed to Canada.
“I am very excited, and it’s a really big step, not only my career but the whole school program and it will open more opportunities in the future for travel,” Dowden said.
The Overwatch team will compete on April 12 for the prize pool of 2,500 Canadian dollars.
A&M-San Antonio esports previously accompanied players across the A&M System for the largest in-person LAN event matchup among the university teams.
The A&M System Showdown featured Super Smash Bros. and Overwatch 2. The showdown included A&M-San Antonio, Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi, Texas A&M University International, Texas A&M University-Texarkana, Texas A&M University College Station and East Texas A&M University.
Hope Trinidad, esports marketing lead, shared that the event was a major success, with strong participation from various Texas A&M University (TAMU) campuses. Their team exchanged jerseys with other schools, including A&M-Texarkana, and celebrated several wins — taking first place overall, with the Overwatch team placing second and the Smash player earning first in singles.
Beyond competition, Trinidad emphasized the importance of building a supportive esports culture across the TAMU system. Texas A&M-San Antonio aimed to take the lead in fostering tradition, advocating for esports legitimacy, and showing university leaders the value of these programs.
“There is a reason we are on scholarships, there is a reason we practice, like so we’re here not just to play around,” Trinidad said.
A&M-San Antonio won the singles matches in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate. Nicholas “Gidy” Strictland won first place, Jayden “Lil Parmesan” Brooks placed second, and Aidan “Feint” Tamariz placed third.
The A&M-San Antonio esports team was established in fall 2019.
Elyssa Quesada contributed to this story.
