WESTERVILLE, Ohio -- Otterbein Esports kicked off Week 5 of its fall 2026 campaign as competition transitioned from NACE Swiss placements into NACE conference play. The Cardinals had a lighter load this week, but took care of business, winning all of their matches.

On Wednesday, Valorant earned a thrilling 2-0 victory in their NACE conference opener against Western Kentucky University. On Map 1 (Lotus), the Cardinals opened the series strong with a 13-9 victory, led by junior Nishan Thapaliya (magz) with a team-high 24 kills (24/11/1 KDA) and supported by freshman captain Izzy Snobeck (Buttercup) with 23 kills (23/15/8 KDA). Map 2 (Sunset) proved to be an instant classic, going deep into overtime before Otterbein secured an 18-16 win to seal the sweep. Sophomore Landon Chalfant (nastee) led all players with a monstrous 41 kills (41/23/8 KDA), with Snobeck right alongside him adding 40 kills (40/22/11 KDA).

The Rainbow Six Siege squad capped off Thursday night with a hard-fought 2-0 sweep over Middle Tennessee State University in Midwest R6 Conference play. Map 1 (Nighthaven Labs) went down to the wire in overtime, with Otterbein pulling away for an 8-6 victory behind a massive 20-kill performance (20/9/7) from Chalfant, anchored by sophomore Ben Ronk (nebski). With 18 kills (18/8/6). The Cardinals sealed the series sweep on Map 2 (Border) with a 7-5 victory, once again led by Chalfant. with a team-high 15 kills (15/7/4), alongside solid support from Polamalu with nine kills (9/7/2)

Super Smash Bros. Ultimate match vs. Radford was postponed to a later date.