The Unified Update Week 1
Unified Esports Association 2/26/2022
Welcome to another JayTuu Unified Update! The show where I , JayTuu, ramble on about esports for a bit and we all have a good time! Amateur esports gets cooler and cooler each week as we see new developments and more players making strides to bridge the gap between esports and the rest of life! Let’s talk about it! To nobody's surprise after an action packed open qualifier, the first round of group stages really had to have a ‘hold my beer’ type of moment. The biggest surprises are that Immortals AOE and Redbirds were literally separated by one minion auto attack, Ginger Turmeric took down Evil Geniuses who have been looking a little shaky this tournament, and Gwen is Immune??)! Group A - Honestly, who else ISN’T surprised that 100 Thieves Next is once again dominating everyone in their path with no remorse? There’s not much to say other than this team is on a different level. Papasmithy said this team could compete in Academy and maybe even LCS and our guy was definitely not exaggerating! Bogged, a team filled with ex-pros and ex-academy players, also stepped it up from their pretty average Open Qualifier performance and took down Winthrop one of the strongest collegiate teams who also happened to make top 4 in the first Proving Grounds Circuit Qualifier. Group C - No Team took care of their business here taking their win over Wildcard Aces but honestly, ToastyAlex had a HUGE standout performance on the night. Nearly forcing a game 3 on numerous occasions, this Wildcard Ace squad has some really good players who should be walking away heads held high pushing a team like No Team to lengths to secure their victory. Third Party and Maryville Saints was also, what’s the word again.. Oh right, BANGER! Third Party definitely came in with something to prove and although they are gonna be slightly disappointed to pick up a loss, again, this second Maryville team isn’t just a rag tag group of guys playing for funsies. You’re still dealing with a team that could honestly probably reach for the top 8 in collegiate so well done to them for putting on a show! Group D - This was probably the most sane groups where almost all the expectations were met. I think a theme for this PGCQ #2 that we’re seeing is that there’s a lot of teams here that you’d write off and not give a second thought but their gameplay is definitely demanding some of our attention. Although Maryville and Taco Gaming took care of their business in 2-0 fashion, Supernova and Nameless Randoms still made them work for it and that’s what you love to see in the amateur space. Also, can we talk about how Taco Gaming has a higher winrate on Thursdays than they do on Tuesday? Either way, please stop scheduling this team for Tuesday games as it’s honestly unfair the buff they get.?? One of the coolest moments in Unified history took place this week as we traveled to Ottawa, Kansas for our MEC Ottawa weekend! Before we get into that though, let’s talk about upcoming events: Sadly, MEC is getting close to being done for Spring 2022 as we are down to our final 2 LANs of the circuit! Drury and Wichita are all that’s left but I’m at least excited to have the MEC coming to town for playoffs! We all hope to see you guys coming out if you’re local to these areas! Don’t think I forgot to tell you about our cool moment this past weekend??! Drury Panthers - Tallest team in the league like…what???? Arkansas Razorbacks - This team has some amazing highs but then loses some games and surprises me. Love watching them play and their potential could be so high! Premier is my personal favorite product. When I got hired on to help Upsurge with social media, this was the product that I spent ALL my time on so it holds a special place in my heart! I get so hyped to watch these matches and it’s also sometimes a break from JUST League of Legends. Don’t get me wrong, I’m a huge League fan especially the amateur scene teams BUT I’m also a gamer who loves a variety of games so the Valorant league gets me going! The other match was a little less exciting but the rematch between Regen and Halt the Kings. This Halt the Kings roster is actually ex-ISU that’s added a couple friends along the way. I’ve been watching these players since they lost 3-1 to UC Davis in the Winter 21’ Finals and they are a really solid group that definitely has potential to go far in this season of UPL! It’s cool to see Regen cross over from Overwatch to Valorant and take a shot at our league and although the loss last night makes playoffs really hard to achieve, it’s still impressive what they’ve accomplished thus far! UAL LoL - Shoutout our producer for the ADORABLE Cafe Cuties logo we got to see. I became a fan not only after seeing that logo but after seeing that gameplay! They may have lost 1-2 but Colorado State Rams have been on stream twice now and they’ve honestly looked good both times! Taking a game off this team is impressive to me!
Group B - As play by play caster Decerux so wisely put it, “Group B is the group of BANGERS!”. What was originally expected to be some quick 2-0 claps, turned into the group of death inside of PGCQ #2. Redbird Esports took down Wildcard Main to deny them a spot in group stages in an insane match and they really brought that same energy into their match against Immortals AOE. It’s heartbreaking to lose a match in what I would call one of the closest competitive matches ever but the fact that they took the pre tournament second best teams to game 3 and nearly won it, is a testament to how good this team can be. And if the excitement wasn’t enough for you, Evil Geniuses also got upset in this group! Now more of the analysts were skeptical about them after their weaker OQ performance, but the predictions still went 7-5 in the favor of the #LIVEEVIL squad. Unfortunately for them, the match did not go the same. It was definitely still a battle for Ginger Turmeric to secure their 2-1 but they really showed they aren’t to be ignored in their Proving Grounds Circuit Qualifier run!
GalaxyCon, Planet Comicon and ALL IN are also right around the corner and we will be unpacking those three great events over the next few weeks! Planet Comicon officially announced Unified as their partner to help run their esports and gaming arena! It’s so exciting to get to be a part of such a huge event and hopefully all our gamers will stop by for some tournaments and if you haven’t yet, you’ve got to check out our Quest system that has been gaining a lot of traction at our events for the casual player or event breaks between your competitions!
First off, I want to thank Kota and Katelyn for allowing us to be a part of their special day. It’s so cool for me and I’m sure many others over the years to see more and more crossover between the gaming community into our natural lives and it’s crazy to think not only is Unified hosting LANs, but one of our competitors is PROPOSING to his girlfriend now fiancee at one of our events!
https://twitter.com/UnifiedEA/status/1495152777529466882
As cool as this was, we also have to talk about our cool MEC Schools??
Grand View Vikings - Dominating the league as expected
Purdue Northwest - Surprised they’re currently in 2nd but this team looks so strong
Ottawa Braves - Improving week by week and huge potential
Ohio Northern - Honestly impressed with their performance and could have some big weeks coming up
Illinois College Esports - Despite the odds, picked up a win and I’m so proud
UPL Valorant - My current favorite league to watch is POPPING! We got two INCREDIBLE matches this week so let’s set it up. Converse Esports are the Summer 21’ UPL champs who took down the former champs (UC Davis) and then had a really deep run in the Fall season against an even more stacked league. AOE Esports are a super strong League of Legends organization that are known for their huge investment into the amateur scene and they’ve now crossed over into Valorant. These two teams were undefeated going into the night so the matchup was very exciting. The biggest win was actually Converse’s Map 2 Breeze takedown where they won 6-13 over AOE but Split and Haven were super close. AOE took both of those and it was such an exciting night. Shondex has been really making a name for themself this year in Premier!
UPL LoL - What started as a last second match change due to a Forfeit and was expected to be a blowout became a very interesting night for Collegiate League of Legends fans. It’s no secret Harrisburg is seen as a powerhouse collegiate team with consistent top 4-8 finishes in CLoL but what is a secret is the strong performance from UCSD last night in their best of 3 match! Game 1, the UCSD squad team fought better and executed their comp better to bring themselves to match point. Unfortunately for them, Harrisburg was able to string together the next two games into victories but it was no easy triumph for them as they had to work for it. UCSD is not only a team that earned some respect last night but someone to look out for in the collegiate space!
