BELLEVUE, Neb. -- The Bellevue University League of Legends eSports team defeated Grand View University on Wednesday evening by a 2-1 score to remain unbeaten in the 2018 RIOT College League of Legends Tournament.
Bellevue improves to 7-2-1 in competitive matches on the season and a perfect 3-0 RIOT College LoL play.
Match Lineup:
- Top: Xu Xie "Sam" (abcabcabc)
- Jungle: Huihao Zhong "Vincent" (V1nSente)
- Mid-Lane: Dylan Guidichessi (MercyLM)
- AD Carry: Gabriel Eckenroth (BU Tea Full)
- Support: Chengyun Xue "Ray" (Raay)
After experimenting with a new lineup last week the Bruins went back to the one they had used in the fall season.
Bellevue 2, Grand View 1
Game One: Bellevue def. Grand View
Bellevue had a strong early game team composition which allowed the Bruins to push turret objectives in the early going. BU's Jungler, Huihao Zhong "Vincent", and ADC, Gabriel Eckenroth, had great synergy to propel the Bruins into an early lead by drawing first blood. Many subsequent kills followed in BU's favor to allow Bellevue to build upon the momentum they seized from their early lead.
As the mid-game approached BU was able to snowball that lead and take the middle turrets and inhibitor. After securing multiple turrets and the inhibitor Bellevue was able to take an early baron which allowed the team to continue their push up the mid-land and secure the victory.
Game Two: Grand View def. Bellevue
The Bruins suffered a big setback to open the second game as Top-Laner, Xu Xie "Sam", did not take teleport (a summoner spell that allows one to move around the map in four seconds) on his character while the opposing Top-Laner did. As a result Grand View was able to apply pressure around that map which BU was unable to answer. This, combined with several other mistakes, resulted in the Vikings taking game two as Bellevue couldn't produce effective macro play.
Game Three: Bellevue def. Grand View
BU, with an eye towards late-game strategy, chose a scaling team composition in the rubber-match. The Bruins grabbed an early lead, securing multiple turrets around the map for an early gold lead. Grand View was able to scale into mid-game and stall long enough for their carries, ADC and Mid-Laner, to get their full builds and scale up.
After going back and forth with numerous team fights and baron contests, Bellevue was able to pull off an amazing team fight in the Mid-Lane, dropping four Vikings which allowed BU to push Mid-Lane and, ultimately, win the match. It was a well-fought battle between both teams but Bellevue was able to out-maneuver Grand View and ended up having better position in the final team fight allowing them to push the final turrets and nexus.
Huihao Zhong "Vincent" and Gabriel Eckenroth both had big individual plays in the third game. Zhong had an amazing pick on the Viking Mid-Laner while Eckenroth racked up a pentakill (killing all enemy champions in short succession).
Up Next:
BU's next RIOT match and opponent will be announced early next week.
The Bruins next compete on Friday, Feb. 2 in the first knockout round of the Midwest League of Legends Open. That match will also be against Grand View at 11 a.m.