Final Four in Nation

Esports League of Legends team competes among 450 other teams

BY LANCE SCHWARTZ • CHIEF COMMUNICATION OFFICER

When Bethany established its esports program in 2019, it's safe to say no one saw the team's rise to national prominence coming just two years later. But that's exactly what happened when the Bethany Vikings Esports team reached the final four of the North American 2021 College League of Legends (CLoL) Championship Tournament in May 2021. League of Legends is the world's most popular video game and competitive esport. There are roughly 450 colleges and universities competing in the League of Legends arena.

Bethany made its entry into the world of competitive team electronic gaming on April 23, 2019, with a kick off event for the new varsity esports team. The goal was to establish a top-tier program. The effort saw Bethany taking the new esports program to the highest level possible by joining the premier collegiate sanctioning organization – the National Association of Collegiate eSports (NACE).

To head up the effort, Bethany appointed Lucas Fricke, who also teaches in the languages (German, Spanish) as the director of the program while Seth Grabow, Production Studio Specialist at the College, would serve as the team's coach and media director.

At the kickoff event, Vice President for Student Affairs Dr. Ted Manthe explained that the team would share the same structure as other varsity team sports at the College.

"Just like any student athlete, [esport competitors] will be mindful of their academic success."

The Bethany Esports team was invited to play in the Gateway Legends Collegiate Invitational, which took place at Ballpark Village in downtown St. Louis. This national esports tournament featured the top collegiate teams across the country, and was an expenses-paid trip for our team sponsored by The Centene Charitable Foundation. Pictured is Bethany playing against the University of Miami in Ballpark Village, which they defeated. BLC was the top seed in their bracket and placed fifth in the tournament of 16 teams.

Photo courtesy of Lucas Fricke

Bethany President Gene Pfeifer also participated in the kick-off event and noted that the addition of esports could prove to be a catalyst to broaden Bethany's already successful media and broadcast programs. Pfeifer explained, "In launching an esports program [our intent] is to link Bethany's unique niche in media arts broadcasting such as our Maverick hockey broadcasts with esports." The first step in making Bethany esports a success in the world of broadcast happened when alumnus Eric Lonnquist was hired to give a boost to the team's online presence. Lonnquist is one of the top world-wide broadcast figures in esports gaming. Lonnquist is a 2006 Bethany graduate, and is a professional commentator for the internationally popular Overwatch League.

Lonnquist commented, "Bethany is uniquely positioned to become a leader in training future esports broadcasting talent and crew because of their ability to let students get ‘hands on' with sports production through their live broadcast capabilities and their excellent facilities."

Prior to the start of the 2020-21 season, the Bethany Vikings Esports team earned its first-ever number one ranking. The rankings are scored by the Collegiate Star League (CSL) which is self-described as "the largest esports platform for competitive leagues across a multitude of games and stages for collegiate players of all skill levels." The ratings are based on input from collegiate esports coaches and individuals with significant knowledge and experience in the esports community. The recognition came in the League of Legends team power rankings category. The initial ranking proved to be reality for the Viking gamers.

Fricke said the rankings systems is, "…very similar to other collegiate coaches' polls." in legacy sports such as football and basketball.

The College League of Legends Championship Tournament is formed from teams across North America with each competing in a conference during a regular season. The College Championship is comprised of twenty-eight teams that qualify through their conference playoffs, as well as four teams that are selected by the tournament committee. Bethany Esports was one of the four at-large selections. These thirty-two best esports teams in North America compete in a single elimination tournament to claim the College Championship trophy.

Collegiate esports teams and players must be associated with an accredited higher learning institution in the United States or Canada, including four-year colleges, two-year colleges, universities, and graduate schools. Players must be currently enrolled in a degree program lasting at least two years and in academic good standing at the school they are competing for as either a full-time student, or part time student that is a former full-time student within one academic year of their expected graduation. Players must additionally be eligible to participate in school-sanctioned club or competitive sports, as defined by the respective institution.

In the first two rounds of competition, Bethany promptly eliminated the University of California Berkeley on May 2 in round one, and then defeated Western University (London, Ontario) on May 9 in the second round. Bethany Esports dominated both best of three matches, notching decisive 2-0 victories.

The Bethany Lutheran College Vikings Esports team continued its dominating ways in the 2021 Tournament quarterfinal round. The Viking gamers defeated The University of Toronto on May 27 in the elite eight round of the Collegiate League Championship Series.

The Vikings' amazing run finally ended against perennial powerhouse Maryville University in the Final Four.

The team continues to add top-caliber players and looks to make another run beginning in the fall focusing on the game Overwatch.