Bruins Dominate their way into AVGL Playoffs
- Cole Schwartz
- Apr 27, 2018
- 2 min read
UCLA League of Legends has battled their way to the playoffs of the American Video Game League (AVGL) after winning their match against University of British Columbia last Sunday.
The AVGL online group stages began on March 30th. Since then, over 80 teams across North America have been competing within their groups to earn a spot in the playoffs.
The upcoming playoff bracket will feature best-of-three elimination matches, until just two teams remain. These finalists will have the opportunity to play in the live AVGL Grand Finals at DreamHack Austin with travel and hotel accommodations paid for by courtesy of AVGL.
UCLA merged both the Varsity and Junior Varsity teams to create a flexible roster for the AVGL tournament. The starting lineup consists of Nathan “Rebel Riven” March, Max “YjMax” Jeon, Ryan “Rydragon” Ling, Austin “BestLucianAfrica” Quon, and Zach “Kizuku” Zhao.
Ling said that merging teams has not caused any issues in their gameplay. “Everyone is really easy-going and we’re all willing to make changes to our individual gameplay if necessary,” he added.
The roster’s new addition, Jeon, has benefited the team because of his proactive playstyle that often results in early-game advantages. Players March and Zhao have also gained invaluable teamwork experience by playing in the PACG and CSL seasons, which has prepared them for the competitive environment.
The Bruins’ talent and cooperation is showcased in their overall record of 8-1 during the AVGL group stage. UCLA only lost to Arizona State University, the division’s top team, which currently holds a 9-0 record. Both UCLA and ASU will move into playoffs because of their impressive overall records.
Coach Albert Lee felt that the team’s success is attributed to their high individual skill levels. However, the skill of the players also produces challenges from a coaching standpoint. “It's harder for me to consistently criticize macro play now, but hopefully as a team we can improve together until the end,” Lee said.
AVGL has not released who the Bruins will be playing against in their first match, but playoff games begin the first week of May.
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