Dcroft and CptBruno establish strong professional status while competing for Clarke Esports

DUBUQUE, Iowa - Two members of the Clarke University Esports team were able to showcase their talents at the highest levels of their title as Daniel Mycroft "Dcroft" and Bruno Albino "CptBruno" both earned significant prizes from their respective competitions.

Mycroft, one of the top Madden players in the country, and Albino, one of the best FIFA players in North America both joined the Clarke Esports team in August 2022 with professional accolades within those titles being able to compete both at the collegiate and professional level.

Since the start of the 2022-2023 academic year, Mycroft has been preparing for his resurgence back into the professional circuit of the Madden Championship Series (MCS). The season started off with the Ultimate Kickoff tournament back in August where he competed through the first Open Ladder stage, and out of almost 2000 competitors, he was able to make it all the way through the bracket and into the live stage of the event. Falling in the quarterfinals, Mycroft finished with a top-eight performance.

The MCS season did not end there, as there were two more big tournaments that Mycroft was looking to perform at in the Ultimate Thanksgiving and Ultimate Wild Card tournaments. Consistently placing well in the remaining tournaments would put Daniel in the best position to qualify for the Ultimate Madden Bowl, which is a $1 million competition that only the top 14 players throughout the professional season can qualify for. Mycroft finished in the top-17 for the Ultimate Thanksgiving tournament and in the top-nine for the Ultimate Wild Card tournament to give him 1550 MCS points, the 11th most overall, to receive a direct invite to the Ultimate Madden Bowl.

On January 25th, Mycroft competed in the first-round of the Madden Bowl earning a 28-21 overtime victory and securing a trip to the live in-person finals in San Francisco. He then flew out to California and competed in the semi-finals of the Madden Bowl on February 2nd against the 14th seeded player. This game would come down to the final moments of the fourth quarter with the score tied at 17-17 with 4 minutes and his opponent having ball possession, Mycroft couldn't keep his opponent out of field goal range as he kicked a go-ahead field goal with seven seconds left. Mycroft would end the Madden Bowl with another top-eight performance.

Meanwhile, Albino made waves in December, signing with the Portland Timbers of the MLS, receiving a contract to represent the club in the upcoming electronic Major League Soccer season (eMLS). His first appearance would be in the League Series 1 Qualifier, taking place from Jan. 24-25. After a very solid two days of matches, Bruno finished as the fourth seed in the standings with a record of 8-3-2, receiving a direct invite to the LS1 Quarterfinals. 

Albino flew out to New York and awaited his opponent from the group stage in the 5th seeded team from FC Dallas. Bruno played a close series against his opponent, losing the first leg 5-2 and winning the second leg 4-3, but unfortunately lost overall with an aggregate score of 8-6. In his first rookie appearance, Bruno would finish top eight.

Following the first competition, Albino would then head into the League Series 2 Qualifier, taking place from Feb. 7-8. Following a 4-6-2 qualifying stage, Albino would not receive a direct invite to the playoffs this time around but would need to play through the LS2 Group Stage, as he fell short of qualifying for the playoffs, finishing in third place in his group with a 1-1-2 record.

Albino's season is fortunately not over just yet, with the final competition of the eMLS season, the eMLS Cup, on the horizon. He will need to play through the Last Chance Qualifier on Mar. 11 for the final spot in the eMLS Cup, as the top 11 players throughout the eMLS season so far received a direct invite to the eMLS Cup, and Bruno finished 12th overall. Bruno will need to place at least Top 2 in his group, and then win the following playoff bracket for his chance to compete in the live event in Austin, Texas.