uncg esports PREMIER Program

The UNCG Premier Program offers our elite esports athletes the ultimate competitive experience, pushing the boundaries of skill, strategy, and teamwork! As the highest level of esports competition at UNCG, the Premier Program is open only to students who excel through a rigorous tryout process, demonstrating exceptional talent in both gameplay and essential skills like communication, strategy, and team dynamics.

Our current Premier titles, Overwatch 2 and Super Smash Bros Ultimate, challenge players to compete at the peak of collegiate esports. Selected team members receive access to dedicated coaching, custom apparel, professional marketing, and travel support—everything needed to thrive on a competitive stage. Join the Premier Program, where your dedication and passion for esports can lead to extraordinary heights!

If you are interested in joining the UNCG Premier Team during the next academic year, please contact us! [with contact form leading to z_ephlin@uncg.edu ]

Premier titles & players

Premier Team players ranked within the top 3% of their respective game title

OVERWATCH

Overwatch is set sixty years into the future of a fictionalized Earth, thirty years after the resolution of what is known as the “Omnic Crisis.” Before the Omnic Crisis, humanity had been in a golden age of prosperity and technology development.

TEAM HIGHLIGHTS

NUMBER 1 out of 230 in NACE for Varsity Gold Division East 7 (2023)
NUMBER 2 in 230 NACE for JV Blue (2024)
TOP 32 in 230 NACE for Varsity Premier (2023)
TOP 32 in 230 NACE for Varsity Premier (2024)
Varsity Plus Division Champions – GOLD – Overwatch 2 (2024)

Grace Zobkiw

Major: New Media
Hometown: Raleigh, NC
Character Main: Kiriko

Bailee Napier

Major: Psychology
Hometown: Greensboro, NC
Character Main: Ana

Max Delacote

Major: Business Administration
Hometown: Les Granges Le Roi, France
Character Main: Winston

Dylan Dunnemann

Major: Marketing & Entrepreneurship
Hometown: Knightdale, NC
Character Main: Widowmaker

Ken Tysiac

Shayan Zolnoun

Major: Communications
Hometown: Chapel Hill, NC
Character Main: Baptiste

Ethan Yavanhxay

Major: Kinesiology
Hometown: High Point, NC
Character Main: Genji

SUPER SMASH BROS.

A crossover series of multiplayer fighting games in which many well-known Nintendo characters are pitted against each other to fight, with each character using their unique abilities in battle.

TEAM HIGHLIGHTS

TOP 5 in the nation for Super Smash Bros Ultimate – NACE Superconference
Varsity Plus Division Champions – Super Smash Bros Azurites (2024)

Jordan Marelli

Major: Business Management
Hometown: Winston-Salem, NC
Character Main: Hero

Bryan Palma Matos

Major: Computer Science
Hometown: High Point, NC
Character Main: Sonic

Isaiah Jenkins

Major: Political Science
Hometown: Spring Lake, NC
Character Main: Robin

Rafael Alfaro

Major: Media Studies – Hometown: Long Island, NY
Character Main: Terry

Darius Jackson

Major: Media Studies
Hometown: Greensboro, NC
Character Main: Roy

Cameron Smith

Major: Information Science
Hometown: Durham, NC
Character Main: Min Min

Darius Richardson

Major: Accounting
Hometown: Browns Summit, NC
Character Main: Yoshi

Noble Ellis

Major: Kinesiology
Hometown: Clemmons, NC
Character Main: Dark Pit