The Hardrocker Esports League of Legends team kicked off the 2020 season by competing in the Collegiate Champions League (CCL). Hosted by Dakota State University, the league is composed of a 9-week regular season with each match consisting of three games. South Dakota Mines is expected to face  Texas Christian University, South Dakota State University, University of Montana, and Dakota State University. Esports Coordinator Mike Vander Heyden spoke about the assembly of the team saying, "I am proud of the way this young team is coming together and learning to play as a team, especially in the critical team fights. It will take time to build chemistry and trust, particularly for our two freshman starters. The CCL is a great opportunity for the team to gain experience and to grow as a team in preparation for CLoL this spring." League of Legends is a 5v5 team game that focuses on strategy and communication to concure the other team's base through different characters, map objectives, and team fights.  

South Dakota Mines fell the opening week against the University of Montana, even after battling back from a 1-0 with an unexpected champion pick; in week 2, South Dakota Mines beat Texas Christian University in a 2-0 sweep. Led by Nick "Mini Láwrence" Duban's dominating play in the mid lane who finished with 20 kills, 18 assists and only 7 deaths across both games, the team has experienced a surge in confidence. Captain Gavin "SincereSupport" Eldridge had this to say after the win, "It's very exciting to see the team continue to get more and more comfortable with each other! Watching the synergy between our jungle Nick "Lakey" Sazdoff and mid laner Nick "Mini Láwrence" Duban grow has given the team even more confidence to continue playing well for the rest of the CCL season and the upcoming CLoL season, Being composed of a mostly new team, with two of our starters being freshmen, the rest sophomores, and only two players having competitive experience, growth is the number one goal."

Currently 1-1, the Hardrockers have a bye this week and will focus their attention on next's week in-state match against South Dakota State University on October 12^th. The match will be streamed on the Hardrocker Esports Twitch.tv channel beginning at 7:00 pm MST.

Remaining CCL League of Legends Schedule
10/12: SDSU @ 7:00pm
10/19: TCU @ 7:00pm
10/26: UMT @ 7:00pm
11/2: SDSU @ 7:00pm
11/9: DSU @ 7:00pm
11/16: TCU @ 7:00pm
11/23: BYE
Playoffs: TBA
 
You can follow the Hardrocker Esports teams at www.gorockers.com, and broadcasting live on Twitch at https://www.twitch.tv/hardrocker_esports.