Beating the odds: Team 8
Riot·1/8/2015, 10:18:58 PM·0 votes·11,749 views
For Team 8, the road to the NA LCS was met with many difficult challenges along the way. Yet with confidence and steadfast determination, this resilient team fought their way into the 2015 Spring Split.
Team 8, feeling discouraged by the results of the Challenger Series, considered disbanding altogether. While they still had two tournaments left to play, the team decided to play in North American Challenger League (NACL) and Black Monster Cup before making their decision. Before they could complete the NACL series, Guess8 left the team. Now in desperate need of a replacement jungler, Braeden “Porpoisepops” Schwark stepped in, but the outlook for Team 8 still looked grim. Porpoisepops admits that, “It was almost certain that after the tournament we were playing that we would break up.”
Although they fell to LMQ 3-1, the team still managed to take second place in the NACL, which was a great improvement from their previous results. Despite their achievement, Team 8 went on to play in the Black Monster Cup with the intention of parting ways once it was over. With nothing to lose, this was the real turning point for the team. Finally, their persistence paid off and they took first place in the Black Monster Cup in an unexpected turn of events.
Afterwards, Team 8 was invited to play in the Lone Star Clash against Cloud9 Tempest, Curse Academy, and Complexity. They placed first in the tournament, which was also their first offline event. With renewed confidence, the team pushed forward. “After we all got back home from Texas, we discussed our future and decided to stay as a team and shoot for the Summer Split of the Coke Zero series, and to qualify for the LCS in 2015.”
With the help of their manager, the team gathered in California in a new gaming house and eventually became champions of the NA Challenger Series. The next major hurdle they would face was CompLexity Black in the LCS Promotion Tournament. Coming in as the underdogs, Team 8 shocked and impressed by winning the first two games of the series. Despite their strong 2-0 lead, CompLexity came back and won the next two games, tying the score. Pulling themselves together, Team 8 crushed the final game of the series and took their place as a competitor in the 2015 NA LCS.
Top laner Calitrlolz captured the hearts of many when he was faced with the decision of attending pharmaceutical school or playing in the LCS. “I honestly thought I was just going back to school up until I learned how it feels to play on the LCS stage.” Passionate about both his academic future and League of Legends, Cali decided to try for both.
“All the vibe and the feeling about the LCS stage made me feel that this is something I do not want to miss out on,” he said. Reaching out to the community, Calitrlolz was met with so much support that he won the approval of the dean of the university. Exempted from the school policy requiring attendance immediately after graduation, he is promised readmission after withdrawal for a year to play in the LCS. While he will be playing in the 2015 season, Calitrlolz is determined to stick to his academic plans. “I highly doubt myself giving up pharmacy school entirely for another year in LCS.”
His teammates agree that Calitrlolz will be a major asset to Team 8 this season. If they had lost Calitrlolz to pharmacy school, Dodo explains, “It would greatly hurt us. Our game play was built around Cali and he was the shot caller.” Although the team had a backup plan to host tryouts, Porpoisepops believes that a replacement for Calitrlolz wouldn’t cut it. “I don’t think there are many top laners in amateur who would be able to match the impact Cali has on a game.”
Comeback kids
Team 8 is no stranger to adversity. Early on, they struggled with both internal issues and roster stability. Brian “Richerich” Nguyen was the first to leave the team, joining COGnitive Gaming who had already qualified for the Spring Split promotion tournament. Jaehyung “Chu8” Park stepped down soon after, leaving the team with two empty roster spots. Determined to keep moving forward, Team 8 added Steven “Calitrlolz” Kim and Ainslie “Frommaplestreet” Wyllie to the roster as they prepared for Spring Split 2 of the Challenger Series. Unfortunately for Team 8, it didn't go as planned. “After Cali and Maple joined our team, we practiced hard and made it to the quarterfinals of the second Spring Split, where we had to play against LMQ,” Jun “Dodo8” Kang explains. “We lost the series 2-1, which ended our hopes in qualifying for the Summer Split of the NA LCS.”
Team 8, feeling discouraged by the results of the Challenger Series, considered disbanding altogether. While they still had two tournaments left to play, the team decided to play in North American Challenger League (NACL) and Black Monster Cup before making their decision. Before they could complete the NACL series, Guess8 left the team. Now in desperate need of a replacement jungler, Braeden “Porpoisepops” Schwark stepped in, but the outlook for Team 8 still looked grim. Porpoisepops admits that, “It was almost certain that after the tournament we were playing that we would break up.”
Although they fell to LMQ 3-1, the team still managed to take second place in the NACL, which was a great improvement from their previous results. Despite their achievement, Team 8 went on to play in the Black Monster Cup with the intention of parting ways once it was over. With nothing to lose, this was the real turning point for the team. Finally, their persistence paid off and they took first place in the Black Monster Cup in an unexpected turn of events.
Afterwards, Team 8 was invited to play in the Lone Star Clash against Cloud9 Tempest, Curse Academy, and Complexity. They placed first in the tournament, which was also their first offline event. With renewed confidence, the team pushed forward. “After we all got back home from Texas, we discussed our future and decided to stay as a team and shoot for the Summer Split of the Coke Zero series, and to qualify for the LCS in 2015.”
With the help of their manager, the team gathered in California in a new gaming house and eventually became champions of the NA Challenger Series. The next major hurdle they would face was CompLexity Black in the LCS Promotion Tournament. Coming in as the underdogs, Team 8 shocked and impressed by winning the first two games of the series. Despite their strong 2-0 lead, CompLexity came back and won the next two games, tying the score. Pulling themselves together, Team 8 crushed the final game of the series and took their place as a competitor in the 2015 NA LCS.
Driven by passion
Top laner Calitrlolz captured the hearts of many when he was faced with the decision of attending pharmaceutical school or playing in the LCS. “I honestly thought I was just going back to school up until I learned how it feels to play on the LCS stage.” Passionate about both his academic future and League of Legends, Cali decided to try for both.
“All the vibe and the feeling about the LCS stage made me feel that this is something I do not want to miss out on,” he said. Reaching out to the community, Calitrlolz was met with so much support that he won the approval of the dean of the university. Exempted from the school policy requiring attendance immediately after graduation, he is promised readmission after withdrawal for a year to play in the LCS. While he will be playing in the 2015 season, Calitrlolz is determined to stick to his academic plans. “I highly doubt myself giving up pharmacy school entirely for another year in LCS.”
His teammates agree that Calitrlolz will be a major asset to Team 8 this season. If they had lost Calitrlolz to pharmacy school, Dodo explains, “It would greatly hurt us. Our game play was built around Cali and he was the shot caller.” Although the team had a backup plan to host tryouts, Porpoisepops believes that a replacement for Calitrlolz wouldn’t cut it. “I don’t think there are many top laners in amateur who would be able to match the impact Cali has on a game.”
