On July 28, Maryville University‘s League of Legends esports Team won second place in a worldwide esports tournament, The League of Legends International College Cup 2019.
The school’s top-ranked esports program qualified to send its varsity team to Hong Kong for the competition after winning the national collegiate championships in L.A. in May. The five-member team played eight matches over six days for the silver medal and $5,000 prize.
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Although the official season, hosted by League of Legends developer Riot Games, starts in January, the team began practicing during the fall semester. In fact, the team’s been preparing for the worldwide competition since the group began four years ago.
Andrew Smith, the team’s assistant director and a former player and captain, described League of Legends as “speed chess meets basketball meets capture the flag.” There is strategizing, quick decision-making, and lightning-fast reaction times. Five players must work to distract and outmaneuver the other team. Smith says people are surprised to discover how similar it is to a traditional sport.
“I grew up playing sports, and [esports] is essentially the same thing,” Smith says. “You go through the same highs and lows that you would on any competitive team, especially because we’re expected to be the best in the country. There’s a lot of pressure, but the whole goal is to work together.”
Maryville formed its esports team during the 2015–16 school year, and Smith was one of the team’s first recruits. Director Dan Clerk handpicked the original five varsity players, students from California, Arizona, and Vancouver. The group’s since grown to a 20-member program with two varsity teams and students from the U.S., Canada, Portugal, and Sweden participating.
Other schools around the county are also forming varsity esports teams. In January, ESPN released its first-ever college rankings for League of Legends teams (Maryville was No. 2). BestColleges.com has also recently started ranking college varsity eSports programs (Maryville was No. 1). An ESPN roundup from March 2018 found at least 125 varsity programs around the country, a number that has almost certainly gone up since then. And that’s not to mention all of the club- and recreational-level esports that take place on college campuses.
“The trend of esports is definitely going to increase,” Smith says. “Schools are starting to realize how intertwined esports is with the younger generation, and the world is realizing that it’s going to be the next form of competition.”
