Written Works
Top student-run clubs have begun to move away from PCL and NECC, leads to rise of smaller grassroots leagues
February 13, 2026 | By Hayden Kim
​#4 Carnegie Mellon did not return to the NECC for the Spring 2026 season despite placing third in the Fall 2025 season. The reason? Returning for another semester is just too expensive for the student-run organization.
For the NECC, it costs a team $800 to join for one title for a year and $1500 to enter teams in all their titles. For PCL, it’s $625 per semester or $1000 for the year. This seems like a steep cost considering the prizepool of just $2000 for the NECC and $3750 for PCL.
“It’s honestly difficult to justify paying so much for a league, considering how small our org is,” says Carnegie Mellon CS2 captain Jacob “cobalt” Elkins.
Carnegie Mellon, despite being the #4 team in the country, does not have a university supported esports program and lacks the facilities, jerseys and funding other programs have. Instead of the NECC or the PCL, Carnegie Mellon has turned to the Longhorn League, a league run by the Counter-Strike esports club at the University of Texas - Austin.
“The fees were pretty steep and it felt like a slap on the face for us,” says Ricardo “Zel” Trinh, President of Texas CS2 and a co-founder of the Longhorn League...
Fisher College Detonate to be new all North American Fisher College team
January 29, 2026 | By Hayden Kim
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Fisher College is adding another collegiate roster.
This time, an all North American roster with the caveat of also carrying the Detonate tag. This new Fisher College Detonate team is set to play in NECC as well as ESEA games. The team is headed by former Fisher College player Mathew “tatm” Munro and coach Taylor “ioRascal” Hays.
The collegiate roster consists of:
Mathew “tatm” Munro
Austin “Chante” Ganster
Basil “bazz” Droulias
Hayden “Momiji” Whitaker
Synthia “Syn” Dawson
Aidan “Feral” Wood (Plays for Syn in ESEA League play)
Taylor “ioRascal” Hays (coach)
Anthony "ynoT" Vitale (coach)
With the exception of Feral, every player on the roster is enrolled at Fisher College on scholarship.
“When we did trials for the team, we were aiming to get everyone enrolled into Fisher,” tatm says. Everyone knew that going in.”
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‘They’re just staying away’: Colfax businesses struggle amid BRT construction
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August 7, 2025 | By Hayden Kim
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Businesses on Colfax are in trouble.
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As construction of the bus rapid transit line down Colfax continues, eateries and retailers along the corridor say they’re feeling the effects in the form of reduced sales and fewer customers.
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“They’re just staying away from this area altogether because of the construction,” said Maud Schaefer, the second-generation owner of Tommy’s Thai.
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Schaefer said revenue at Tommy’s Thai has dropped 25-35%, forcing her to make some difficult decisions.
“We’ve cut a lot,” Schaefer says. “And the people that work here are family or they’re friends.”
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The restaurant at 3410 E. Colfax Ave. did receive a one-time payment, of $15,000, from Denver’s Business Impact Opportunity fund, which is intended to partially mitigate losses. It was one of 29 businesses, from Starbucks to Cerebral Brewing, that received cash in a round announced last month...
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UT Austin unites Texas with first-ever Texas Collegiate Classic
October 15, 2025 | Written by Hayden Kim
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The home of the 2025 Austin Major is set to host another LAN.
The University of Texas Counter-Strike club has announced their first ever Texas Collegiate Classic set to take place at the Alienware Longhorn Esports Arena at the University of Texas at Austin. The tournament takes place on October 25th will feature teams from Texas in a four-team best-of-three single-elimination bracket with a prize pool that is to-be-determined.
“I feel like doing this will help Counter-Strike get out there,” said tournament organizer and Texas Counter-Strike club president Ricardo “Zel” Trinh. “I feel like the sense of community collegiate CS, and NA CS as a whole, has been slowly fading away.”
The Texas Collegiate Classic is another product of Texas Counter-Strike’s wider goal of building up the collegiate CS2 scene. The Texas Counter-Strike club is also the organizer for the Longhorn League, a league outside the traditional leagues of PlayVS and NECC, and includes teams such as #2, Texas, #8 RIT, #32 Texas A&M and #31 Penn State...