Esports | 1/21/2018 11:13:00 PM

Columbia, Mo. - Early Saturday the Cougars eSports varsity squad faced Illinois Wesleyan University in their official debut of 2018. Those who followed the Cougars in their victory at DreamHack Denver last fall may have noticed some changes to the lineup as the Cougars unveiled two new players on top of a positional change. Saturday's lineup included:
 
            Ian "MistyStumpey" Alexander (Top)
            Zachary "Bukzach" Lapham (Jungle)
            Julien "Julien" Gelinas (Mid)
            Evan "EvanRL" Lawson (Bot)
            Dean "Dean" Wood (Support)
 
The new lineup did not disappoint and the team defeated Illinois Wesleyan (2-0). In Game one, the Cougars held a 6.7k gold lead at ten minutes, the result of a combination of kills and CS advantages in all lanes. Alexander recorded 62 at ten minutes (+6 over his opponent), Evan hit 96 at ten minutes (+40), and Julien stacked 92 at ten minutes (+42). The Cougars cracked the base and raised two inhibitors by 16:50 minutes. The game ended (21-4) in 19:30 of game time. Three members finished with perfect KDA's.
 
Game two took a bit longer to close. The Cougars were slightly down at ten minutes, compared to the first game, only holding a 3.2k gold lead. The most notable play of the game came around the 16-minute mark when Columbia went for an Earth Drake buff. While CC fought for the drake, Julien attempted to take out the enemy bot player and got killed, resulting in Bukzach dying as well. Illinois, hungry to prolong their 5-versus-3 advantage, found themselves advancing through a choke point on the map. In a split instant, Misty appeared in the center of the Illinois team and unloaded a full combo. His teleport flank netted himself a triple and created a positive 2-for-5 trade for Columbia. Columbia finished the game 29-4 in 23:30.
 
Cougar Junior Varsity also defeated their opponents, the University of Alabama-Birmingham (2-0). Between the fall and spring sessions, the team acquired new starting top laner Aaron "P1atypus" Wegter, who has been performing exceptionally well. He recorded 83 CS at ten minutes (+28) in game one and 88 at ten minutes (+29) in game two. Overall, both teams had great performances and are focusing on the upcoming Wichita Esports 20k Midwest LoL Open February 2-4.
 
Didn't see the game live? Watch Saturday's broadcast here  Twitch.tv/cc_esports.

For the insider scoop on Cougar eSports, follow the teams on twitter @Cougar_eSports.