KENOSHA, Wis. — On Saturday, Oct. 3, Carthage Esports concluded its Fall 2026 Wisconsin Esports Conference (WEC) Week Three campaign. Rocket League (RL) Red and Marvel Rivals have now earned 3-0 overall records, while RL Black had to reschedule its contest against the University of Wisconsin (UW) Milwaukee Varsity Black.

WEC matches for both RL and Marvel Rivals are not livestreamed on the Carthage Esports Twitch channel. However, supporters are encouraged to visit the Esports Arena or watch matches on a player's Twitch channel to cheer them on when they compete. RL participates in regular-season action every Monday from now until roughly Nov. 2. Marvel Rivals participates in regular-season action every Wednesday from now until roughly Nov. 4. Both are slated for 6 p.m. CST start times on their respective game days.

Fall 2026 WEC Week Three Recap – Carthage RL Red (3-0) vs. University of Wisconsin [UW] Milwaukee JV Gold (2-1)
Score: Carthage Red 3, UWM Varsity 0

On Saturday, Oct. 3, Carthage RL Red faced off against UW Milwaukee JV Gold in an off-stream, rescheduled best-of-five series. For the third consecutive week, Firebirds Red have earned a series sweep. As of this writing, they are tied for first place in the regular-season standings with UW Stout Blue Devils Varsity at 3-0 overall and 9-0 in games.

Carthage RL Red's roster contains a sophomore trio of captain Owen Perry (Kor), Kyle Branski (xray), and Jimmy Prims (ItsSlurp17, aka ThePrimReaper). Within this best-of-five series, Branski, Perry, and Prims competed against UW-Milwaukee JV Gold players ADM, John, and Jxbu.

To begin the series, Firebirds Red earned a 4-1 victory in Game One. Prims scored the game's opening goal after Branski pinched the ball on UW-Milwaukee's right post. Prims followed the ball's bouncing pattern (right-to-left), boosted upward, and twirled his car sideways to score (4:05). After nearly three minutes of a defensive struggle between both sides, Prims read a midfield clear by Jxbu, pinched the ball off a left-corner wall, and scored as the Panthers' net was left uncovered (1:23).

On the preceding kickoff, Prims secured a hat trick by flicking the ball past Jxbu after a midfield read (1:19). Within the last 25 seconds, Firebirds Red scored a fourth goal as Branski, on the right sideline, passed to Perry at midfield, who had an open scoring lane. Before the game ended, John scored on Perry immediately following an ADM demolition that cleared out Prims.
Game Two ended with Carthage RL Red on top, 5-1. Firebirds Red scored first at the 3:55 mark. As Branski traveled from midfield to UW-Milwaukee's net, Jxbu saved the initial shot. Luckily, Perry jumped up immediately from the left corner and carried the ball past ADM to score. Perry's dominance continued at the 2:57 mark as he controlled the ball vertically from midfield to UW-Milwaukee's net. Essentially, he hit a flip reset above Jxbu to deliver an easy shot.

Carthage's next scoring possession came at 2:39 when Branski set up a right-wall pass to Prims. Although Jon saved a shot, the ball bounced up and off the ceiling. Before the Panthers could clear it away, Perry came in and slammed it in. Later in the game, Perry scored his fourth off an incredible left-wall read as ADM attempted to clear the ball off UW-Milwaukee's half (1:53). About 13 seconds later, Jxbu and Jon combined for a Panthers goal. Jxbu floated the ball from Jon's left, and Jon shot it efficiently. Before time expired, Perry logged a fifth goal.

To end the series, Carthage RL Red pitched a 5-0 Game Three shutout. Prims led the way with three goals, while Branski and Perry each scored once. At the 4:21 mark, Perry scored off a left-side pass by Branski that centered the ball on the Panthers' net. Next, Prims launched the ball toward midfield, forcing Jon to clear the ball earlier than anticipated. Unfortunately for him, Branski raced in from the right side of UW-Milwaukee's half and scored on Jxbu, the Panthers' deepest defender (3:51). Within the next minute, Carthage's offense scored two more goals: Prims scored on an open net after an offensive triple-commit by the Panthers (3:24), followed by a Prims score after a Branski double-tap center (2:44). Prims then scored his third after Jon accidentally pinched the ball in front of his own net (1:20).

As a unit, Carthage Red recorded 14 goals, 10 assists, 12 saves, 32 shots, and five demolitions on 44% shooting. On defense, Firebirds Red allowed the Panthers to score twice on 16 shots on net across the entire best-of-five series. Dating back to WEC Week One vs. Ripon College Black, Carthage Red's opponents have only shot 11.7% from the field.

Fall 2026 WEC Season Player Stats Through Week Three – Carthage RL Red

• Owen Perry (Kor): 24 goals, 14 assists, 11 saves, 53 shots, five demos, 45% shooting
• Jimmy Prims (Slurp): 16 goals, 11 assists, 10 saves, 41 shots, six demos, 39% shooting
• Kyle Branski (xray): 15 goals, 15 assists, six saves, 29 shots, 11 demos, 52% shooting

Carthage RL Red (3-0, 9-0) will compete in a WEC Week Four off-stream, best-of-five series against a to-be-announced opponent tonight at 6 p.m. CST. Those who wish to support and watch RL Red can either visit the Esports Arena or tune into a Twitch channel belonging to one of our players.

Fall 2026 WEC Week Three Recap – Carthage Marvel Rivals (2-1) vs. University of Wisconsin [UW] Stout Blue Devils JV Navy (1-2)
Score: Carthage Marvel Rivals 3, UW Stout 2

On Wednesday, Sept. 30, Carthage Marvel Rivals prevailed in a thrilling off-stream, best-of-five series against UW Stout Blue Devils JV Navy. Unlike Week Two, where the Firebirds swept their opponent 3-0, Blue Devils JV Navy tested their limits. With this victory, Carthage Marvel Rivals (2-1, 7-5) is sixth out of 14 teams in the regular-season standings.

The Firebirds' WEC Week Three game-day roster included senior Ethan Anderson (Snowstorm), junior Adam Hollis (Hollister09), alongside freshmen Jacob Cooper (Void), Hayden Nelson (Hazzick), Michael Santiago (Vader), Matthew Santiago (Lumen), and Anna Westbrook (BambeeBirdie).

Marvel Rivals is a free-to-play, third-person 6v6 team-oriented hero shooter developed by NetEase Games and Marvel Games. Players select renowned Marvel heroes and villains to engage in fast-paced, dynamic matches.

In the WEC, teams compete in three game modes: Convoy, Convergence, and Domination.

• Convoy: Escort mode in which one team pushes a payload cart along a designated path to reach a final point. The opposing team must defend the route and prevent the cart from moving forward before time expires.
• Convergence: Hybrid mode that mixes elements of Domination and Convoy. Teams initially fight to seize a control point, which then unlocks a payload cart that the attackers must escort through the map.
• Domination: King-of-the-Hill mode in which two teams fight to control and hold a central point on the map. The first to fill its progress bar to 100% wins the round, and this process repeats throughout a best-of-three format.

Marvel Rivals also includes three specific in-game character roles: Duelist, Strategist, and Vanguard.

• Duelist: Primary damage dealers who focus on securing eliminations and outplaying the enemy team. They have lower health pools and rely on strong positioning or precise aim.
• Strategist: Stabilizes team fights from the backline (i.e., heals teammates or provides buff utility).
• Vanguard: Frontline of a team composition. They use large health pools and damage mitigation abilities to absorb enemy fire, control objectives, and create space.

For Carthage, primarily, Hollis and Michael Santiago are Vanguards; Nelson and Matthew Santiago are Duelists; Cooper and Westbrook are Strategists. However, for flexibility purposes, players could swap roles from time to time.

Games One to Five went:

• Domination on Birnin T'Challa (2-0 Carthage win)
• Convergence on Tokyo 2099 – Shin-Shibuya (3-2 UW-Stout win)
• Convoy on Thebes (2-1 UW-Stout win)
• Domination on Krakoa (2-0 Carthage win)
• Convergence on Lower Manhattan (4-3 Carthage win)

Statistically speaking, Carthage and UW-Stout depicted a gutsy, five-game series. Although UW-Stout recorded more kills as a team, Carthage's defensive blocking line improved in Games Four and Five to push them toward the finish line.

Total Team Statistics:

• Carthage: 534 kills / 134 deaths / 354 assists, 150 final hits, 442,569 forced damage, 525,821 damage blocked, and 433,027 healing
• UW-Stout: 549 kills / 135 deaths / 323 assists, 148 final hits, 460,086 forced damage, 509,927 damage blocked, 447,219 healing.

Down 2-1 in the series, the Firebirds decided to make a switch at the Strategist position. Anderson filled in for Westbrook, starting in Game Four. As a result, he provided 76,423 healing in only two maps (32,103 in Game Four and 44,320 in Game Five) to stabilize the backline alongside Cooper, who had accumulated 203,118 healing across the entire series. Offensively, Cooper logged 157 assists, which helped facilitate the offense. Additionally, Michael Santiago (Vader) performed exceptionally well. He tallied 149 series kills alongside 157,691 forced damage and a whopping 295,499 damage blocked.

On the flip side, UW-Stout opted for a mid-series adjustment as DarthPig substituted in for BLYNK in Game Three to offer fresh utility to their Vanguard/Duelist line. Demigod became a bad dream and then a nightmare for the Firebirds throughout the five-game series as he led the entire field with 152 kills. Additionally, Killstrk3, UW-Stout JV Navy's main Strategist, became a premier offensive support engine, securing 153 assists across five games.

Overall, this five-game series saw UW-Stout start hot with a 2-1 series lead. DarthPig proved to be an invaluable asset for UW-Stout in Game Three. However, when Carthage swapped from Westbrook to Anderson, they found a rhythm by Game Five. In Convergence on Lower Manhattan, the Firebirds managed to isolate and eliminate Demigod and NomisTheGnome—two Vanguard players—a combined 35 times to win the series 3-2.
Fall 2026 WEC Season Player Stats Through Week Three – Carthage Marvel Rivals

• Michael Santiago (Vader): 279 kills / 63 deaths / 131 assists / 274,197 forced damage
• Matthew Santiago (Lumen): 225 kills / 47 deaths / 125 assists / 199,895 forced damage, 204,011 healing
• Hayden Nelson (Hazzick): 241 kills / 75 deaths / 125 assists / 213,572 forced damage
• Adam Hollis (Hollister09): 224 kills / 63 deaths / 25 assists / 194,510 forced damage
• Jacob Cooper (Void): 189 kills / 59 deaths / 297 assists / 65,269 forced damage, 375,098 healing
• Anna Westbrook (BambeeBirdie): 120 kills / 38 deaths / 106 assists / 80,855 forced damage, 90,832 healing
• Ethan Anderson (Snowstorm): 60 kills / 15 deaths / 82 assists / 31,867 forced damage, 76,423 healing
• Jonathan Jasek (JJPower): nine kills / eight deaths / no assists / 9,808 forced damage

Carthage Marvel Rivals (2-1, 7-5) will compete in a WEC Week Four off-stream, best-of-five series against a to-be-announced opponent tonight at 6 p.m. CST. Those who wish to support and watch Marvel Rivals can either visit the Esports Arena or tune into a Twitch channel belonging to one of our players.
Carthage Esports is currently in-season with NECC and WEC competition. We have scheduled Fall 2026 NECC livestreams for Smash Bros. (Tuesdays), Rainbow Six (Wednesdays), and Overwatch (Fridays). This pattern occurs for regular-season matches from the week of Sept. 28 to the week of Nov. 9. We extend our gratitude to those who consistently support the Carthage Esports program.
Follow @carthageesports on all socials to stay updated on content involving the upcoming Fall 2026 and Spring 2027 seasons. Follow our Twitch channel to be informed when broadcasts go live. Lastly, be on the lookout for recaps on the Carthage Athletics – Esports page as the Fall 2026 NECC and WEC seasons continue.