Rocket League Roster (Top, L-R): Emilio Pilapil, Erik Wolf and Alex Rodriguez. Not pictured: Linas Savickas, Noah Cohen Kalafut and Victor Roberts. League of Legends Roster (bottom, L-R): Conor Miller, Joel Alvarez, Devon Morrison, Lee Te, Hank Ha, Angel Gabriel Vargas, Tyler Kujawa and Kamil Gebis. (DePaul University/Courtney James)
DePaul's esports program has officially kicked off the 2019 fall season, with both the League of Legends and Rocket League squads competing against their BIG EAST Conference foes in online tournaments.
League of Legends
This fall, DePaul's League of Legends team is competing in the ESL Collegiate BIG EAST Preseason Invitational, with matches scheduled for the month of November and culminating in the playoffs on Nov. 24. League of Legends is a multiplayer online battle arena game with five players per team. Matches are usually 30 to 45 minutes each, with one team needing to win two of three matches to claim victory.
The Blue Demons looked impressive with a 2-0 win over Villanova Nov. 4 to open the season and next play Nov. 16 against Georgetown.
Competing for the Blue Demons (Twitch names in parentheses) are senior Hank Ha (Hunky Hank), juniors Conor Miller (The Shekler) and Joel Alvarez (Reaper), sophomores Kamil Gebis (Kamcha) and Lee Te (Maybe Soon), and freshmen Devon Morrison (Metallic), Angel Gabriel Vargas (Aspiring Dropout) and Tyler Kujawa (kingamazin).
Rocket League
This fall, DePaul's Rocket League team is competing in the Electronic Gaming Federation's BIG EAST Esports Invitational Tournament, which features four weeks of preliminary matches that began Nov. 3 to determine seeding for the playoffs Dec. 7-8 in New York City. Rocket League games, which end when one team has won three of five matches, can last anywhere from 20 to 30 minutes and combine soccer with the physics of driving flying cars in a multiplayer game with three players per team.
The Blue Demons kicked off the season in style with a 3-0 win over Xavier Nov. 3 before falling to Seton Hall, 3-2, Nov. 10. They next play Nov. 24 against Marquette.
Competing for DePaul (Twitch names in parentheses) are seniors Erik Wolf (Rumble), Linas Savickas (Jaco) and Noah Cohen Kalafut (Oafish), junior Alex Rodriguez (Karmajuney), and sophomores Emilio Pilapil (Flux) and Victor Roberts (Krispy).
2019 ESL Collegiate BIG EAST Preseason Invitational - League of Legends
Schedule (4-1)
Nov. 4-10:
vs. Villanova - W, 2-0
vs. St. John’s – L, 2-0
vs. Marquette – W, 2-0
vs. Butler – W, 2-0
vs. Providence – W, 2-0
Nov. 16: vs. Georgetown - 5 p.m.
Nov. 17: vs. Seton Hall - 5 p.m.
Nov. 24: Playoffs - TBD
2019 EGF BIG EAST Esports Invitational - Rocket League
Schedule (1-1)
Nov. 3: vs. Xavier - W, 3-0
Nov. 10: vs. Seton Hall – L, 3-2
Nov. 17: BYE
Nov. 24: vs. Marquette - 11:05 a.m.
Dec. 7 & 8: Playoffs - TBD
About Esports
Esports, or competitive video gaming, has exploded in the last five years, resulting in an industry that sees over 2 billion people play or watch worldwide. By 2022, the growth of esports from a competition and viewer standpoint is expected to exceed 300 million participants. Around the country, more than 150 universities field varsity teams, with DePaul's Loop neighbor, Robert Morris University Illinois, fielding the first varsity program in the country in 2014.
For more information on esports at DePaul, email esports@depaul.edu or follow @DePaulEsports or @DePaulLoL on Twitter.