Los Angeles, Calif. – The Cougar Esports team competed in their second National Championship
Friday evening. The opposing team was the hometown favorite and 2018 National Champions, number two-ranked University of California-Irvine. The games were played at the NA LCS Studios in Los Angeles. The series drew tens of thousands of fans who tuned in online to watch the games on Twitch.tv.
 
The Cougars started the series with a decisive game-one victory. Columbia was first on the board after an early three-man dive at top lane. The play put Ian "Mistystumpey" Alexander in a strong position to start pressuring UCI in the side lanes. The Cougars found another great team fight midway through the game that netted three kills and the Baron. With Baron buff in hand the Cougars closed out the game 15-5 after 33:26 minutes of play.
 
In game two, the Cougars opted to run the Sonic-Taric bot lane strategy. The unorthodox strategy has seen some success in pro play and becomes extremely strong in late-game scenarios. Despite being at an early disadvantage, the Cougars seemed to hold their own for a good portion of the game and were only down 3,000 gold at 20 minutes. Disaster came shortly after when Columbia forced a four-versus-five team fight and gave up three kills and the Baron. The Cougars salvaged the play when David "rovex" Sin-Keo made a nice teleport play and scored a double kill to stabilize the game. UCI did not falter again, winning consecutive team fights, and eventually taking game two 26-10 in 38:22.
 
By the final game of the series it seemed clear that UCI knew what strategy worked for them. While CC focused top side, UCI would play towards bot lane. As the game played out, the Cougars were not able to match UCI's tempo. Game three finished 7-19 in 28:50.
 
The team's 2019 season was nothing less than amazing after being ranked No. 1 by the ESPN Coaches Poll. The team also had first place finishes at the HUE festival and the 2^nd Annual Global Esports Classic
 
Didn't see the game live? Watch Thursday's broadcast here  Twitch.tv/riotgames.

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