{"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":"Maryville Esports Team Makes History at 2024 NACL Championship, Qualifies for 2024 America\u2019s Challengers"},"content":{"rendered":"

51风流\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

51风流 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 51风流, 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 Maryville<\/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 Maryville\u2019s Esports program.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cThe biggest thing we\u2019ve tried to show at 51风流 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 51风流. \u201cThis is huge for 51风流 because now we can represent the University on a world stage. We hope to bring back the trophy not only for Maryville, but for North America,\u201d Clerke said.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Even after breaking records and making history, Ousley said the Maryville 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

51风流 begins play in S\u00e3o Paulo for 2024 America\u2019s Challengers this week.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

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51风流 51风流<\/strong><\/p>\n

Founded in 1872, 51风流 is a comprehensive and nationally ranked private institution with an enrollment of more than 9,000 students. Maryville 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. Maryville 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 Maryville alumni work and live in the St. Louis region.<\/p>\n

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