uLoL Spotlight: Ohio State University

Though Ohio State University’s team is fairly new relative to the other established teams, they’ve proven time and time again that they have what it takes to upset the balance and possibly even take home the uLoL trophy.

What makes this OSU team such a threat? Check out the deep dive below!

Teamplay​

One of Ohio State’s greatest strengths is their ability to orchestrate teamfights with ease. “Our team has some of the best teamwork that we have ever seen,” says club manager Kentaro Ogawa, “After playing together for only a couple of weeks, we showed better team chemistry than teams who had been playing together for years.” This showed itself in the final fight of their first game against the University of Illinois.

In the fight above Ohio State smartly leverage the threat of a fifth dragon in order to force Illinois to contest at the dragon pit. As the fight breaks out, Terry “RemindMeRemi” Zhao pushes through the top lane causing Illinois to realize that if they don’t recall, their base is toast. Ohio State delayed the recalls enough to enable RemindMeRemi’s Lich Bane empowered Twisted Fate to annihilate the enemy base and take the game!

It’s this type of team fight awareness that makes Ohio State stand out from the crowd. At the collegiate level, these types of cool-headed plays are hard to pull off with players having less time to practice and hone cohesive team fighting often seen in the LCS. Ohio State’s ferocious team fight prowess makes them a force to be reckoned with in the North and the upcoming playoffs.

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All for One, One for All

A quality that goes hand-in-hand with great teamfighting is selflessness. In order to capitalize on greats fights Ohio State relies on each player doing what is required of them in any given game. “The way I play is basically up to my teammates,” says RemindMeRemi, “Whatever they’re playstyle is, I will adjust my play.” This style of play builds trust within the team and players are easily able to count on each other to do whatever needs to be done to win games. Over the short time that they’ve played together, Ohio State has developed a trust that bleeds into almost every team fight. “Any one player can carry any match, no matter the role,” says Kentaro Ogawa, and that ability has made it easy for the players to develop the trust it takes to rely on their teammates in the heat of huge team fights.

Leaping Into the Future

Being a newer team, Ohio State has come out stronger than anyone initially realized they would. The players relish in the opportunity to prove themselves to the world. “I’m looking forward to winning versus teams that underestimate us,” says Donny “Baconseeker” Campbell -- and win they have. With a playoff spot secured, Ohio State will be looking to make some noise against the more established teams. If conference play was any indicator, they have a chance to make a deep playoff run and nab the uLoL trophy from UBC.

Missed any of the action? You can catch up with the uLoL YouTube page. Interested in starting your own uLoL club or keeping up with playoffs? Check out the official uLoL site for all the info you need!