KENOSHA – Between Saturday, May 2, and Sunday, May 3, Carthage Overwatch (OW) Red competed in UW-Stout's Esports Arena for the Spring 2026 Wisconsin Esports Conference (WEC) State Championshp LAN. As the dust settled, the Firebirds nearly eclipsed a reverse sweep to win, but obtained second place overall.
Carthage OW Red, featuring junior captain Mason Stenger (zXc), junior Joy Schultz (JumpyWizard), sophomore Billy Flanagan (ChickenFries), sophomore Deacon Kirvan (FerociousPig), and sophomore Adam Hollis (Hollister09), qualified for the Spring 2026 WEC State LAN thanks to a phenomenal regular season campaign.
Overwatch is a free-to-play 5v5 team-based hero shooter where players select a unique hero with special abilities and roles (Tank, Damage, or Support) to achieve objectives across game modes such as Control, Escort, Flashpoint, Hybrid, and Push. The gameplay emphasizes team cooperation and strategic planning to succeed in a team-oriented combat environment.
Spring 2026 WEC Regular Season Review
In the Spring 2026 WEC Regular Season, the Firebirds finished with a 6-1 Overall and 17-5 Map record. With these metrics, they claimed second place out of 21 teams and trailed esports rival, UW-Stout Blue Devils (6-1, 19-5). Although Carthage OW Red lost its first-place standing, it defeated UW-Stout in Week Five. This victory instilled confidence in the Firebirds to reach WEC's State LAN. Due to a stellar regular season performance, Carthage OW Red qualified for the Southeast Regional LAN, which took place in the Carthage Esports Arena between Saturday, April 18, and Sunday, April 19.
Spring 2026 WEC Southeast Regional LAN + Acknowledgment of NECC Achievements
Specifically, the team concluded its round-robin phase with an overall record of 3-1 and a map record of 6-3 on Saturday April, 18. Regarding the championship bracket, the Firebirds received a first-round bye due to their top-two placement in the round-robin stage. For the semifinals, Carthage OW Red took down UW-Milwaukee Varsity Black, 3-0. To cap off their Southeast Regional LAN run, the Firebirds obtained a hard-fought 3-2 series win vs. the Milwaukee School of Engineering (MSOE) Raiders on Sunday, April 19. As a result, Carthage OW Red secured an automatic bid to the Spring 2026 WEC State LAN held in the UW-Stout Esports Arena.
En route to the Spring 2026 WEC State, Carthage OW Red secured accolades at the National Esports Collegiate Conference (NECC), including a Division III Central Championship victory, achieved through a 4-0 series win against No. 3 Wright State Raiders as the top-seeded team, and reaching the 2026 NECC Division III OW National Grand Finals. As of this writing, we are proud to announce that No. 1 Carthage OW Red earned the program's first-ever National Championship after a 4-3 series win vs. No. 3 Paradise Valley Community College (PHX) on Friday, May 8.
Spring 2026 WEC State Championship LAN – Group Stage
Circling back to the Spring 2026 WEC State LAN, the Firebirds traveled to UW-Stout on Friday, May 1, to prepare for the Group Stage on Saturday, May 2. They competed against teams such as MSOE Raiders Varsity Crimson, UW-Green Bay Varsity Phoenix, UW-Milwaukee Varsity Black, UW-Stout Varsity Blue, UW-Stout Club White, UW-Whitewater Varsity Purple, and UW-Madison Club Red.
During the Championship Group Stage, Carthage OW Red achieved a 2-1 Overall and a 6-4 Map record. The team secured victories against UW-Madison Club Red, 3-1, and UW-Green Bay Varsity Phoenix, 3-0. However, the Firebirds were swept, 3-0, by UW-Stout Varsity Blue. Based on their metrics, the Firebirds secured the fourth position out of eight teams but were assigned the No. 3 seed in the Finals Bracket as they earned a head-to-head tiebreaker vs. MSOE Raiders Varsity Crimson.
Spring 2026 WEC State Championship LAN – Finals Bracket; Semifinal
On Sunday, May 3, Carthage OW Red, alongside UW-Stout Varsity Blue, enjoyed a first-round bye before engaging in respective semifinal matches. Specifically, the Firebirds competed against UW-Whitewater Varsity Purple in an engaging best-of-five series, securing a 3-2 win. This clinched Carthage OW Red's second consecutive Spring WEC State Grand Final appearance, dating back to Spring 2025, when the team beat the MSOE Raiders, 4-1, to win the Grand Final.
Spring 2026 WEC State Championship LAN – Finals Bracket; Grand Final – Maps One to Three
Subsequently, the final stop was designated as UW-Stout Varsity Blue once more during the most significant match of the entire season. This best-of-seven championship match went the distance with Carthage OW Red nearly pulling off an improbable reverse sweep after being down 3-0 at one point. The following game mode/map combinations were played in sequential order: Control (Lijang Tower), Runasapi (Push), Escort (Circuit Royal), Aatlis (Flashpoint), Blizzard World (Hybrid), Esperança (Push), and Suravasa (Flashpoint).
To open the series, UW-Stout dominated on Lijang Tower, winning 2-0 in Control on Lijang Tower. To conclude Map One, Tank Flak (Mauga), DPS Spinal (Bastion), and Support UrPocketCat (Jetpack Cat) overwhelmed Flanagan (D.Va) and others, who were trying desperately to avoid a 2-0 sweep. On Map Two, UW-Stout secured a 92-53m Runasapi Push win after Spinal took out Flanagan and Schultz (Lucio). At the same time, Support Krilp (Lucio) eliminated Hollis (Kiriko) to stall Carthage's attempt to catch up in overtime. Next, the Blue Devils achieved a 1-0 Circuit Royal Escort win in Map Three by limiting the Firebirds to just 82 offensive meters. On the attacking side, UW-Stout's Spinal (Sojourn) decimated Flanagan (Ramattra), Schultz (WuYang), and Stenger (Sojourn) with charge shots to help his team surpass 82 meters with the payload.
Spring 2026 WEC State Championship LAN – Finals Bracket; Grand Final – Map Four
With a 3-0 series lead, the Blue Devils maintained momentum. However, the Firebirds made the contest compelling with an unlikely comeback in Map Four's Aatlis Flashpoint sequence. In the early stages, Carthage found itself trailing 2-0. Despite this disadvantage, the team collaborated effectively to consistently secure teamfights and subsequently captured the next two points, ultimately tying the map at 2-2. In a 99% vs. 99% teamfight, Flanagan (Mauga) played a huge role as he eliminated DPS Southweast (Reaper) and Flak (Mauga) within seconds to give his team space to take full objective control. To secure the 3-2 Aatlis Flashpoint win, Kirvan (Reaper), took down Spinal (Genji).
Spring 2026 WEC State Championship LAN – Finals Bracket; Grand Final – Map Five
In Map Five, the Firebirds maintained consistency and delivered an outstanding performance on Blizzard World Hybrid, securing victory with a 3-0 score following a complete offensive payload capture and escort. On defense, they prevented UW-Stout from unlocking the payload. With 15 seconds left, Schultz (Mercy) snuck behind Flak (Mauga) to revive Flanagan (Mauga). This created an unexpected wedge in the Blue Devils' plans to quickly capture the objective. Although Flak took out Flanagan, Kirvan (Venture), and Stenger (Emre) quickly took out his DPS teammates. As a result, Carthage ganged up on Flak, and Hollis (Kiriko) punched him to secure the elimination. UW-Stout Support Krilp (Mizuki) tried to stall, but Hollis hit a headshot to ensure the Blue Devils were done for good.
Spring 2026 WEC State Championship LAN – Finals Bracket; Grand Final – Map Six
To tie the series 3-3, Carthage earned a 109-54m win on Esperança (Push). Within the final seconds, Stenger (Cassidy) hit a headshot on Spinal (Reaper) and beamed Flak (Ramattra) with a silver bullet, acquired by the selection of an in-game perk. Next, Krilp (Lucio) aimed to become UW-Stout's hero in hopes of extending their overtime period. As soon as he was about to launch Lucio's "Sound Barrier" ultimate, Kirvan (Venture) drilled him to death, effectively canceling the ability. Subsequently, Kirvan took down Southweast (Mei), while Stenger jumped in and dissolved UrPocketCat (Kiriko).
Spring 2026 WEC State Championship LAN – Finals Bracket; Grand Final – Map Seven
For Map Seven, UW-Stout secured a 3-1 victory over Suravasa Flashpoint. The match commenced with a 2-0 lead until Carthage scored the third point. When the fourth point was achieved, the Firebirds gained it and reached 98% before the Blue Devils intervened. UW-Stout eventually reached 99% and endured a quick overtime bout to lock up the Spring 2026 WEC State Championship. It started with a melee from UrPocketCat (Jetpack Cat) onto Schultz (Lucio), followed by Southweast taking out Kirvan in a Venture duel. Next, UrPocketCat eliminated Hollis (Kiriko), which meant the Firebirds had no support. Then, Flak launched Wrecking Ball's "Minefield" ultimate to wipe out Flanagan [Wrecking Ball], while Krilp (Lucio) finished off Stenger (Sierra).
Ultimately, UW-Stout came out as the winner. However, Carthage OW Red made it a competitive series, which altered the way viewers interpreted the series as it progressed. Both teams showcased their best and showed up in the Spring 2026 WEC State Championship LAN. We take great pride in Carthage OW Red's outstanding performance during the Spring 2026 WEC Season, which encompassed a championship win at the Southeast Regional LAN, as well as securing silver medals at the WEC State Championship LAN.
Carthage Esports has entered the offseason and will return to regularly scheduled livestreams in Fall 2026 to kick off the 2026-27 competitive year. Stay tuned for the Spring 2026 NECC Nationals Recap article within the coming weeks. We extend our gratitude to those who consistently support the Carthage Esports program.
Follow @carthageesports on all socials to stay updated on content related to the Spring 2026 NECC and WEC Seasons. Follow our Twitch channel to be informed when broadcasts go live. Lastly, be on the lookout for more recaps on the Carthage Athletics – Esports page.
