ASU Esports: ASU League of Legends sees improvement against top-ranked opponents

(Photo: Boise State University)

The Arizona State League of Legends team participated in the Harrisburg University Esports (HUE) Invitational on Sept. 19-20 and was among some of the best talent on the collegiate League of Legends scene, including No. 1 Maryville University, No. 2 Columbia University and No. 3 Harrisburg University.

Eleven of the 16 teams that participated were either a part of or received votes for ESPN’s College LCS Top 25 last season.

The tournament was played in two stages. First, the teams were divided into random groups where they faced each other in a single round robin format. The top three teams from each group advanced to the top-16 bracket.

ASU went 2-1 in their group stage, beating No. 2 Columbia in 30 minutes in their first match of the tournament.

ASU went on to beat Oakland University in 28 minutes in their second match, but lost to Maryville B in 30 minutes in their final match of the group stage.

Bot laner Alex “Snoopsss” Espinosa said the team played so well because it played with “no regrets,” a sentiment shared by top lander Nathan “Firetheft” Harris.

“Everyone came in really focused on Saturday,” Harris said. “I could tell everyone cared a lot.”

ASU’s 2-1 record in the round robin stage qualified them for the top-16 bracket where they were seeded No. 16 and forced to play No. 1 Maryville in the first round.

Maryville swept ASU 2-0 in the series, winning both games in under 27 minutes.

Harris expressed his frustrations on their seeding, but still felt good about how the team played.

“I was annoyed with how it played out,” Harris said, “but I still felt pretty good about our team.”

Despite what they believed to be an unfavorable turnout, the ASU Esports team was very satisfied with what they learned from the HUE Invitational.

“One of the things I took away from [this tournament] is that on our best days, we can have a lot of success,” Espinosa said.

Former ASU coach Ben “Baepsae” Duan credits the growth and continued success of the team to new coach Michael “Miko” Ahn and is confident in the team’s abilities moving forward.

“Just within the two to three weeks that Miko has taken over we’ve seen a drastic improvement to this team,” Duan said. “Us beating [Columbia] is a great indicator of that, and I think that after a month, two months, three months we’ll only just keep getting better. We’re really excited for the future.”