The esports golden egg has returned home after the Mississippi State University esports team defeated the University of Mississippi in the sixth annual Esports Egg Bowl with a final score of 5-2.
The tournament, held in McComas Theater, marked the first in-person Egg Bowl held on MSU’s campus since 2019. The competition was also streamed on MSU Esports’s Twitch and featured lively sportscasters who served to explain the rules and team strategies for each title. With this setup, it was expected to be the largest and most exciting Egg Bowl yet.
“This is the first time for all of our crew to ever host an event of this size and this nature,” MSU Esports President Colin Klein said.
Egg Bowl host Alex Castellano, a sophomore music education major, hyped up the audience as the first competitors took the stage for the beginning of 10 hours of gameplay.
The Bulldogs started off strong with their performance in Overwatch 2, a first-person shooter game, and Smite, a multiplayer online battle arena. These two wins gave MSU an early 2-0 lead.
However, MSU hit a wall with their performance in Rocket League, a car-based soccer game. Ole Miss shut out MSU and quickly won the four rounds that were necessary to advance to the next game. This demolition gave Ole Miss their first point on the board, bringing the score 2-1.
Ole Miss went on to win the next game, Counter-Strike 2, a first-person shooter, making it the Landshark’s first CS victory in the Egg Bowl since 2019. This victory tied the series 2-2.
MSU followed with a shutout game of League of Legends, another Multiplayer Online Battle Arena. This sweep put MSU in the lead with a score of 3-2.
The Bulldogs secured their Egg Bowl victory with a win in Valorant, a first-person shooter. MSU delivered a standout performance during the first round, ending with a perfect score of 13-0. The Landsharks applied pressure during the second round, but proved to be no match for the Bulldogs, who ended the round in a 13-10 victory.
Although the bowl victory was secured, the energy remained high for the last round, Super Smash Bros. Ultimate, a Nintendo fighting title. Members of Smash Dawgs, MSU’s Super Smash Bros. club, took to the stage to play a series of close 1v1 matches. The Bulldogs hailed victorious, ending off the night with a final score of 5-2.
With the closing of this year’s Esports Egg Bowl, the victory has given the Bulldogs a 4-2 lead in this historical matchup.
At the closing ceremony, the entire team took the stage as the trophy was passed to Klein, who only had a few words to say.
“Honestly?” Klein remarked. “Just another day.”
The rivalry will continue with the seventh annual Esports Egg Bowl being held on Ole Miss’s home turf next year.
