2nd Red River Clash Raises 2.6k+ for Extra Life, Longhorns Bulldozing OU 6-1

came to the esports arena for the second annual Red River Clash, a battle between Longhorn Gaming and OU Esports. In addition to this, the clash managed to make $2,500+ for charity.

Compilation of the Red River Clash done by video producer Brandon Villarreal.

On the 7th of November the Red River Rivalry came to the esports arena, with the OU Esports club (OU) and Longhorn Gaming (LG) going head to head in seven titles. But don’t be mistaken: there was also two other very important goals of the weekend.

First, both organizations participated in some amazing panels. The topics ranged everything from competitive development in esports to how this event came to be in the first place. Panelists did an amazing job showcasing how exciting the growing industry of esports is, including collegiate esports. Both teams put aside their rivalries to engage each other in an honest conversation and build a better future for gamers.

Second, both organizations teamed up to raise money for the charity Extra Life. Extra Life unites thousands of gamers around the world to play games in support of their local Children’s Miracle Network Hospital. The hospitals need help now more than ever. The Children’s hospital treats everything from cancer to broken bones, and they can’t stop because of Covid-19. The Longhorns and Sooners were not only in fierce competition on the esports field, but also to see who could raise the most money for their Children’s Hospital.

In total, the event ended up raising over their goal $2,500.

First, members of the OU Esports club had some fun lying to each other playing the smash hit game Among Us! Some folks played and others donated money to choose the colors and hats of certain characters. The members also played Jackbox games and Teamfight Tactics with similar ways to get involved.

Saturday’s panel was hosted on the OU Esports twitch, but is currently live here on YouTube. The panelists got together to discuss their leadership roles and how this event came to be. The President of the OU Esports Club Jasmine Graves and the Director of Intercollegiate Competition Jonathan Hudson represented OU while President of Longhorn Gaming Ashley Kim and Vice President of Internal Affairs Daniel Killough represented Longhorn Gaming. This panel stood out due to the genuine respect both sides had for each other, as well as just their genuine love of gaming.

Next comes the grudge matches, where Longhorn Gaming and the Sooners battled it out in seven titles. The first match was Super Smash Brothers Ultimate, hosted on the Longhorn Gaming channel. This one was hard to modify with donations due to the nature of the game and console, but folks still tuned in and supported Extra Life! It was a close battle at forst, but Ultimately Longhorn Gaming won with +5 stocks. The next event was Tom Clancy’s Rainbow 6 Siege hosted on the OU Esports Twitch. The game was super close the whole time, but Longhorn Gaming got the W. The Overwatch match was hosted on the Longhorn gaming channel, and because OU won the donation incentive for this game, they got to pick the map. OU won 3-2 in a very tight and well played match.

For the final grudge match of Saturday, the teams faced off in Call of Duty: Modern Warfare on the OU Esports twitch channel. Both teams agreed to use the TESPA method beforehand, so when OU won the donation incentive, they chose to pick the first and third maps. They chose the St. Petrograd map. Even though they won the battle of incentives, they lost the war. Longhorn Gaming pulled through with a 3-0.

Things kept in high gear after day one as the schools both headed into Sunday.

To start off the morning, OU Esports Club and Longhorn Gaming members came together to talk about professional esports development. Each of them brought a unique perspective to how the teams operate on an individual level. This includes how they function as a team for each game. Students discussed what it is like coaching a team, what developing an esports club is like, and the challenges that they have to overcome with these tasks.

“I really, absolutely love the sense of community the OU Esports Club gives. I absolutely love that I can start building that community and start working for that,” said Joseph “Himana”, the head coach of OU’s LoL team. “Without the attachment to the school I am not sure I would be putting in so much work. We don’t do the work we do because it is funny, or fun, we do it because we love it.”

The day continued with a Rocket League grudge match between the two schools, in which Longhorn Gaming secured a clean defeat after not losing a single game to OU Esports Club. This led to the Longhorn team cleanly besting OU Esports this weekend. After the match there was a small break in the action before it was picked right back with CS:GO, and the two schools were at it again. OU started off very strong, and while it looked like they were going to carry home the victory, UT pulled their act together and came back to take the set and win the grudge match, carrying their momentum from the previous game. After CS:GO, Longhorn Gaming and OU Esports Club competed one last time in LoL. Following suit from their plays earlier that day, Longhorn gaming came out victorious, defeating the OU Esports Club in a thrilling fashion.

The day finishes out with a Minecraft and Among Us community stream, but before that, there was one last panel (currently hosted here) about other opportunities in the esports realm. The students discussed how the community they are a part of affected them as a whole, and it was a reminiscent and heartwarming way to end the weekend of competition.

In a twist of irony, we saw a total flip of the victories from last year. In the first Red River Clash, LG won Overwatch but lost in League, flipping the script this year in addition to the many new games this year. OU Esports club looks to make a comeback next time!