USC Aiken Gamers Take Down Lander

Aiken, SC (02/16/2019) — The University of South Carolina Aiken E-sports Team bested Lander University Bearcats during the most recent Peach Belt Conference's League of Legends of game.

"I feel like we beat them because we had more skilled players, not necessarily because we played better as a team," said Sam Boyd, a member of the Pacers' team.

"We have some really good players, which puts us far above most teams in terms of raw skill, but certain aspects of team-play we need to work on, and hopefully we'll be ready to go by the end of the season, so we can win PBC.

Last year, USC Aiken's gamers joined the PBC, which is the first conference among Division II institutions to formalize e-sports as a conference sport. Since then, they've been gearing up for this season, taking the same approach any collegiate athlete does, with regular practice and conditioning. In fact, the Pacer team generally practices together three nights a week.

"When we play together we try to make the moving parts of a team dynamic fall into place," Boyd said.

In addition, the team members - seven in all - play on their own time, honing their skills.

The next PBC contest for USC Aiken gamers is against Flagler.

"I'd really like to see us put some research into Flagler's play style and team composition, so we can be informed when it's time for us to make the decisions about how we will play the match," said Boyd, a sophomore majoring in applied computer science, with a concentration in cybersecurity and a minor in political science.

The USC Aiken e-sports team has a season full of PBC match-ups before the playoffs.

"I've got really high hopes and expectations for this year because I think we've got the potential to go all the way, but it'll come down to how well we can mesh as a team and work together," Boyd said.

For a complete schedule, go to: https://www.peachbeltconference.org/sports/esports/2018-19/schedule?teamId=tspn4fdthzzdozrf .

Media Attachments