uLoL Spotlight: Stony Brook University

It should come as no surprise that Stony Brook showed up to the 2016 uLoL Campus Series ready to brawl.

SUNY has been cultivating their esports prowess over the last few years but only managed lukewarm success in the 2015 NACC. The combination of a smart practice regimen plus a penchant for healthy competition has led Stony Brook to cementing themselves as one of the top teams in the East.

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The Right Stuff

"Our gameplay speaks for itself," says SBU's marksman Anthony "Cuo" Paino plainly. Confidence alone can be a boon, but when it's earned as the result of hard work and self-improvement it makes for a team that can achieve almost anything.

"We are self-aware and we understand that we can always improve and do better, which we strive to do," explains mid-laner Jing "Program" Kun. "That helps put us ahead of the competition because we are never complacent and we do not overestimate ourselves nor underestimate others when it comes time to play."

In terms of self-improvement, Stony Brook split their goals into two categories: individual and team play. Individually, mechanics can always be better. Even when the team is unable to practice together, members of the squad are constantly seeking to improve their abilities on a micro-level; which is impressive given they are also full time students. According to Stony Brook top laner Andy "Andy Hyung" Zheng balancing the two can be tough, but "I don't let playing League take away from my study or homework time," he says. Once they're done crushing it in class though, these students hit the Rift like it's a virtual training facility; expanding their champion pools, learning matchups, and experimenting with different build paths, all in an effort to enhance their individual capabilities.

Stony Brook Synergy

The most important thing the team has going for them, and the reason for their success, is that they truly are a team. "We possess team synergy both on and off the rift and are not just a group of players playing together but are a team," says Cuo, "We practice through scrimmaging other uLoL [teams], LAN Pro teams and NACS teams."

As a group, the number one thing SBU is working on is team communication. In addition to that though, they try to glean what they can from professional realm and implement it in their own play. "We look at team compositions and/or picks that are working in professional play to try them out ourselves and then run whatever works for us as a team," explains Program.

When it comes to these varying compositions, SBU never get complacent or too attached to one strategy. "We like to play all different styles and compositions to keep our opponents on their toes. We have a notebook much like Lemonnation's which is known as the SBU Bible," says Cuo.

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Relish the competition

As it stands, the East is one of the closest conferences with all four top teams within 8 points of each other and swapping places until the very end. University of Maryland, Toronto University, and York University round out the rest of the eastern teams vying for a trip to the finals. According to members of the SBU squad though, they've got one team in particular on their minds - Toronto. "University of Toronto," says Program bluntly when asked who their greatest competition in the East was. "Toronto," echoes Cuo, "Their team play and rotations are on point." After kicking off the season with a six-game win streak the SBU crew dropped both games in the Best of 2 against Toronto, opening up a path for Toronto to take the lead in the standings.

No one is overlooking SBU anymore, but that doesn't mean they'll settle for anything less than the number one spot. What makes matters even worse for their opponents, is they still have the mindset of an underdog. "[I want] the fame and glory of a random team beating all the so-called 'teams to look for' teams," says MuteTeamWinGame. It's safe to say that SBU are not some random team anymore, but they've taken that chip on their shoulder and used to do one thing: win.

Missed any of the games? Catch up with all the action on the uLoL YouTube page. Interested in start your own uLoL club or keeping up with playoffs? Check out the official uLoL site for all the info you need!