{"id":17148,"date":"2024-09-12T08:44:02","date_gmt":"2024-09-12T13:44:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.maryville.edu\/mpress\/?p=17148"},"modified":"2024-09-12T08:44:02","modified_gmt":"2024-09-12T13:44:02","slug":"maryville-esports-makes-history-2024-nacl-championship","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.maryville.edu\/mpress\/maryville-esports-makes-history-2024-nacl-championship\/","title":{"rendered":"Ä¢¹½´«Ã½ Esports Team Makes History at 2024 NACL Championship, Qualifies for 2024 America\u2019s Challengers"},"content":{"rendered":"

Ä¢¹½´«Ã½\u2019s League of Legends (LoL) team took first place at the 2024 North American Challengers League (NACL) after a history-making season. The team went 9-0 in the regular season \u2013 the first team to do so \u2013 and continued their historic winning streak by going undefeated in the finals and the NACL.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Ä¢¹½´«Ã½ is the first collegiate team to promote into \u2013 and win \u2013 a Tier 2 League of Legends competition, according to Dan Clerke, director of esports. \u201cWe\u2019re the first collegiate program to ever win this league.\u201d<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Jordan Ousley, esports creative director at Ä¢¹½´«Ã½, echoed Clerke\u2019s excitement. \u201cIt\u2019s unusual for a collegiate team to advance like this. The teams we\u2019re competing against are full-time, salaried, professional players,\u201d he explained. \u201cBut we\u2019re doing it. <\/span>Our commitment to making \u2018path to pro\u2019 a reality helped build our brand at Ä¢¹½´«Ã½<\/span><\/a> and show our players they don\u2019t have to give up going to college or postponing their degrees to compete at the highest level.\u201d <\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The team, competing under the name \u201cDragonsteel,\u201d will head to S\u00e3o Paulo, Brazil next for the 2024 Americas Challengers where teams from North America, Brazil and Latin America face-off. The tournament aims to offer new opportunities for players to grow professionally \u2013 a key pillar of Ä¢¹½´«Ã½\u2019s Esports program.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cThe biggest thing we\u2019ve tried to show at Ä¢¹½´«Ã½ is that college can be a path to the professional league,\u201d Ousley said. \u201cWe make it so our players can compete at the highest level while balancing a workload and finishing a degree.\u201d<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Clerke acknowledged the importance of this achievement not only for his players, but also for Ä¢¹½´«Ã½. \u201cThis is huge for Ä¢¹½´«Ã½ because now we can represent the University on a world stage. We hope to bring back the trophy not only for Ä¢¹½´«Ã½, but for North America,\u201d Clerke said.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Even after breaking records and making history, Ousley said the Ä¢¹½´«Ã½ Esports team is laser-focused on continuing to shape the future of esports at the collegiate and professional level. \u201cWe\u2019re going to keep setting the bar higher and higher.\u201d<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Ä¢¹½´«Ã½ begins play in S\u00e3o Paulo for 2024 America\u2019s Challengers this week.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

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Ä¢¹½´«Ã½ Ä¢¹½´«Ã½<\/strong><\/p>\n

Founded in 1872, Ä¢¹½´«Ã½ is a comprehensive and nationally ranked private institution with an enrollment of more than 9,000 students. Ä¢¹½´«Ã½ offers over 90 degrees at the undergraduate, master\u2019s and doctoral levels, as well as several certificates that align with the undergraduate and graduate education levels. Ä¢¹½´«Ã½ is recognized as the third fastest-growing private university in the United States by The Chronicle of Higher Education, serving students from 50 states and 56 countries. More than 17,000 Ä¢¹½´«Ã½ alumni work and live in the St. Louis region.<\/p>\n

<\/i>Love<\/span>1<\/span><\/span><\/a> <\/i> <\/i>