Apex Legends opens season by winning Proton Collegiate Kickoff

BELLEVUE, Neb. -- Over the weekend, the Bellevue University Apex Legends team captured the Proton Collegiate Kickoff Championship, one of the year's largest national Apex Legends tournaments. The event brought together top collegiate programs across North America, including schools with household recognition from Division I athletics and some of the strongest Apex Legends teams at the collegiate level.

The tournament began on Saturday, September 13th, with pool play. Bellevue was placed in Lobby 3 and finished in first place with 106 points, the group's highest margin of victory. This was an impressive achievement considering the caliber of schools competing. Traditional Division I powerhouses such as Indiana University, Purdue University, Penn State, and the University of Florida were all in BU's pool. The roster consisted of Brayden Thompson (Vodery), Jason Zajac (Jukezy), Jose Mendez-Ortiz (JoseM), and Christopher McCarthy (Muffins), who outperformed their opponents by a large margin. San Jose State University (SJSU), another Division I institution, and widely respected in Apex Legends, also competed in the national tournament, alongside Ottawa University, which is recognized as one of the premier Apex programs in North America. Bellevue's first-place finish ensured they advanced to the Finals as the No. 3 seed.

The Finals took place on Sunday, September 14th, with the top six teams from each pool converging into a single championship lobby. This field included: Ottawa University, Minnesota State University, Cumberland University, San Jose State, Penn State, and Southern Miss, among others. Many of these teams consistently rank among the best Apex Legends programs in the collegiate landscape.

The finals used a "match point" format, where teams must first reach a points threshold and then secure a first-place finish to win the championship. Bellevue reached match point by Game 5, joining Ottawa, Minnesota State, Cumberland, and the Western Outlaws in contention for the title. In Game 6, under intense pressure, our team delivered a first-place finish to claim the national championship. Ottawa, a top Apex program, was also on match point during that game, though the Bruins outlasted one of the strongest teams in collegiate Apex in a head-to-head showdown for the trophy.

The team received remarkable individual performances from Brayden Thompson (Vodery) finished as the tournament's top player in both kills and damage on day 1 and finished with the top damage on day 2. Jason Zajac (Jukezy) placed in the top three nationally in those same categories on both days.

Our program's success against both Division I universities and top-ranked Apex Legends teams highlights the growing strength of Bellevue University Esports. It shows that our athletes can perform under the brightest spotlight.