By: Cumberland Sports Information

LEBANON, Tenn.-- Cumberland Esports captured the NECC Apex Fall National Championship as the Phoenix trio of Joshua Lubitz, Riley Alden, and Charlie Buckner II battled through seven maps to secure the program's latest national title.

The championship format required teams to surpass a 70-point threshold and then secure a first-place finish in a subsequent match to clinch the title.

Cumberland opened the championship in dominant fashion, claiming a first-place finish on Storm Point in map one while totaling 25 points to jump out to an early lead.

The Phoenix added to their total in map two on Olympus with a seventh-place finish, bringing their score to 36 points. The University of Southern Mississippi surged into the lead after a map victory pushed the Golden Eagles past Cumberland entering map three.

Cumberland faced adversity in map three on World's Edge, placing ninth and falling to third in the overall standings heading into map four. The Phoenix responded in emphatic fashion on E-District, earning a first-place finish and 28 points to surge to 68 points, just shy of the championship threshold.

The Phoenix reached the required 70-point mark in map five with a fifth-place finish, setting up championship point conditions entering game six. Cumberland, Fisher College, and Southern Mississippi all reached the threshold, but a victory by Kennesaw State forced a decisive seventh and final map.

With the national title on the line, Cumberland delivered in the final game. Southern Mississippi was eliminated in the closing rounds, leaving the Phoenix and Fisher College battling for the championship. Cumberland ultimately secured the decisive finish in the final circle to claim the NECC Apex National Championship.

"This team earned every second of this moment," head coach Spencer Claypool said.

The title marks the seventh national championship for Cumberland Esports since the program's inception in 2021.