Collegiate competition heats up California
Riot·11/18/2014, 10:19:12 PM·0 votes·8,686 views
While the months after Worlds are a quiet time for most League fans, a small group of players all over North America takes these months more seriously than any other time of year.The North American Collegiate Championship qualifiers have begun, and every college player knows what that means: a balancing act between practicing dozens of hours a week… and making sure to get your homework in on time. With tens of thousands of dollars in scholarships on the line -- not to mention a chance to compete on the LCS stage -- teams from all across the country are giving it everything they've got. The competition was fierce last year, this year is looking to take it to a whole new level. And nowhere is that competition more fierce than Southern California.
Home to one of last year’s top four and a higher concentration of top teams than anywhere else in the region, SoCal is looking stronger than ever this time around. Most of last year's top squads have retained or improved their rosters, making them an even more dangerous threat this time. On top of that, other schools that weren't in the conversation last year have risen to contend for the throne. Take the University of California, Los Angeles for example. Eliminated early from NACC last year, you might know them nowadays as Call Gaming - the team that competed in the Expansion Tournament for a spot in the LCS. And they might not even be the best team in the area.
Some, like CSU Fullerton's captain Atik Bhakta, entered the season with a tremendous amount of confidence. Retaining three members from a squad that came in second in the Collegiate Starleague last year and boasting a new Challenger freshman in the mid lane, Bhakta believes his squad to be even stronger than before. He shied away from claiming anything definitive, however, instead cautioning that, “this year the collegiate scene is a lot more competitive than last year, there's a lot more good teams; a lot more people are getting into it because there's a lot of money involved this year.” These words were demonstrated first-hand at the Newegg LAN, as CSU Fullerton clearly wasn't the only team in top form.
In fact, in their first match of the tournament, they dropped a game to UC Irvine's “B team,” UCI Gold. That UCI is even able to field a competitive B team is a true testament to the strength of their program, to the point where many of the club's members – including Gold's captain, Dustin Wang – decided to attend UCI partially to join up. Wang warns against looking down on his squad for being the B team, explaining that the “A team,” UCI Blue (one of last year's NACC Top 4), were just the first five to get together. “Honestly, I see ourselves as two sister teams, like Samsung White and Samsung Blue,” he explains, “I think on a skill level, comparatively, we're pretty much the same.”
Other teams came in on less certain terms, like the University of Southern California who suffered two fairly devastating losses at Newegg. Team captain Albert Yue places the team's skill level “probably around the middle,” but acknowledges that he doesn't see the team “up there with the best of the best quite yet.” Even so, he's confident in their ability to improve from here. “I think we can reach that point eventually,” Yue says, “because we're such good friends with each other and we really enjoy playing together, but it's going to take a lot of work to get there.” With three LAN-seasoned returning members and the motivation to move up, it might be a mistake to count USC out just yet.
Ultimately, technical difficulties caused the day to end with the tournament unfinished. Around half the event’s matches were played online, and in the end CSU Long Beach reigned supreme, with Irvine Gold coming in second and Fullerton behind them in third.
There's plenty of other strong teams all around the country: many of them as good as, or better than the ones here in Southern California. But SoCal's scene is something special. It's a tight-knit community of gamers, made up of clubs both brand new and older than League itself. Whether they’re throwing gigantic viewing parties or competing in tournaments, SoCal clubs always give it their all. So when the season ends and the best teams rise to the top, you can bet on seeing more than a few SoCal names among them.
For more detailed coverage of collegiate League of Legends, all over North America, check out CSL’s Region Reports and follow them on Twitter for live broadcasts.
All images credited to Jesse Wang, HSL.
A Taste of Things to Come
A few weeks ago, Newegg and the High School Starleague hosted a five-team local LAN featuring UC Irvine, USC, CSU Fullerton, CSU Long Beach, and Troy High School. Held outside the Newegg Hybrid Center in the City of Industry, these five squads got an early taste of high-stakes competition with $1,000 in cash on the line and busloads of local fans in the audience. As the competitors faced off round-robin style, Lolesports got a chance to chat with three of the team captains.
Some, like CSU Fullerton's captain Atik Bhakta, entered the season with a tremendous amount of confidence. Retaining three members from a squad that came in second in the Collegiate Starleague last year and boasting a new Challenger freshman in the mid lane, Bhakta believes his squad to be even stronger than before. He shied away from claiming anything definitive, however, instead cautioning that, “this year the collegiate scene is a lot more competitive than last year, there's a lot more good teams; a lot more people are getting into it because there's a lot of money involved this year.” These words were demonstrated first-hand at the Newegg LAN, as CSU Fullerton clearly wasn't the only team in top form.
In fact, in their first match of the tournament, they dropped a game to UC Irvine's “B team,” UCI Gold. That UCI is even able to field a competitive B team is a true testament to the strength of their program, to the point where many of the club's members – including Gold's captain, Dustin Wang – decided to attend UCI partially to join up. Wang warns against looking down on his squad for being the B team, explaining that the “A team,” UCI Blue (one of last year's NACC Top 4), were just the first five to get together. “Honestly, I see ourselves as two sister teams, like Samsung White and Samsung Blue,” he explains, “I think on a skill level, comparatively, we're pretty much the same.”
Other teams came in on less certain terms, like the University of Southern California who suffered two fairly devastating losses at Newegg. Team captain Albert Yue places the team's skill level “probably around the middle,” but acknowledges that he doesn't see the team “up there with the best of the best quite yet.” Even so, he's confident in their ability to improve from here. “I think we can reach that point eventually,” Yue says, “because we're such good friends with each other and we really enjoy playing together, but it's going to take a lot of work to get there.” With three LAN-seasoned returning members and the motivation to move up, it might be a mistake to count USC out just yet.
Ultimately, technical difficulties caused the day to end with the tournament unfinished. Around half the event’s matches were played online, and in the end CSU Long Beach reigned supreme, with Irvine Gold coming in second and Fullerton behind them in third.
The Season Marches On
Since that weekend, Fullerton has remained successful with four wins and only one loss, looking to take on the undefeated San Jose State later this week. Irvine Gold and USC, however, have not been so lucky: both teams currently sit near the bottom of their divisions. Of course, the season has only begun and a college player's life is unpredictable, resulting in erratic practice schedules or sudden forfeits. There's still plenty of time for these guys to get it into gear. And given that the 2015 season changes are on the horizon, a fast adaptation to a whole new game might be all it takes for a struggling team to rise to the top.
There's plenty of other strong teams all around the country: many of them as good as, or better than the ones here in Southern California. But SoCal's scene is something special. It's a tight-knit community of gamers, made up of clubs both brand new and older than League itself. Whether they’re throwing gigantic viewing parties or competing in tournaments, SoCal clubs always give it their all. So when the season ends and the best teams rise to the top, you can bet on seeing more than a few SoCal names among them.
For more detailed coverage of collegiate League of Legends, all over North America, check out CSL’s Region Reports and follow them on Twitter for live broadcasts.
All images credited to Jesse Wang, HSL.
