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By David Wise
@wiselingsc2
The Collegiate StarLeague season is upon us once again. The best collegiate e-sports warriors from across the continent will soon duke it out for school pride and internet glory.
In anticipation for this exciting year of StarCraft, I compiled a list of the top teams and players from last season. There are also a few interesting facts below that even the most ardent CSL fan might not know! For a more detailed recap of last season’s CSL finals at MLG, feel free to read this game-by-game breakdown.
The top ten CSL teams from the 2013-2014 season
These are the top teams from the previous season. Throughout the season and the playoffs, these teams stood out above the rest. The squads came together from various backgrounds and interests to bring honor and glory to their respective schools. It should be noted that there are schools that are not on the list that could arguably qualify as one of the top ten. The difficulty of these picks attests to the many stacked and talented StarCraft II collegiate teams are out there.
1. University of Western Ontario
Before the playoffs started, those familiar with the CSL season were predicting teams such as the University of California, Irvine, the University of Texas at Austin, and other powerhouse schools to take the championship. However, after they secured a spot in the playoffs in the wildcard tournament, Christopher ‘Ostojiy’ Ostojic and the rest of the University of Western Ontario squad blazed through the post-season in dominant fashion. Western Ontario left teams such as Penn State, the University of Maryland, College Park, and the University of Florida in the dust before it vanquished the University of Toronto in the grand finals to secure the CSL title. Western Ontario’s championship run proved to be a refreshing and entertaining surprise.
2. University of Toronto (pictured above)
During the CSL StarCraft season, the University of Toronto went undefeated as it posted a perfect 8-0 record. In the playoffs, compLexity Gaming’s Henry ‘hendralisk’ Zheng and the rest of the True Blues toppled Carnegie Melon University, the University of California, Los Angeles, as well as the University of Texas at Austin on their path to the finals. They finally fell to the University of Western Ontario in the finals after a season-long display of teamwork and StarCraft prowess.
3. University of Texas at Austin
The Longhorns reigned undefeated in the Midwest 1 Division in season play. In the playoffs, they only dropped one map and defeated powerhouse teams, such as Utah and Purdue, before finally giving way in the semi-finals to the University of Toronto.
4. University of Chicago
The University of Chicago posted a perfect record in season play to take the top spot in the Midwest 2 Division. Its playoff run was also outstanding as it defeated Ohio State University, Rice University, and UC Irvine for a spot in the semi-finals before it finally buckled to the University of Western Ontario, the reigning champions.
5. University of California, Irvine
The ultra-competitive West 1 Division was up for grabs, especially since UC Berkeley’s Conan ‘Suppy’ Liu took leave from the CSL last season. In this staked division, UC Irvine came out on top with a 7-1 record. Irvine bested the Rochester Institute of Technology and former CSL champions University of Washington in the playoffs before an upset loss against the University of Chicago.
6. University of Utah
The Utes came into the season with a significant disadvantage: the loss of grandmasters Huy ‘SCDPride’ Troung and IvD Gaming’s Sangjae ‘ZergZingZing’ Park. Despite this, the University of Utah, under the leadership of Brandon ‘Magnet’ Gibson, posted an undefeated season record. In the playoffs, Utah bested University of California, San Diego and reached the quarter-finals, where they finally lost to UT Austin.
7. University of Florida
The Gators performed excellently in the playoffs. Florida upset Georgia Tech and defeated the University of Minnesota, Twin Cities to reach the quarter-finals where they finally fell to the University of Western Ontario.
8. École de technologie supérieure
The Quebecois engineering school tied for first in the Canada East Division with a 6-2 record. ÉTS defeated Dalhousie University, South Dakota School of Mines, and the University of Wisconsin-Madison to reach the round of eight where it succumbed to the University of Toronto.
9. University of Maryland, College Park
UMCP went undefeated in season play. The Testudos defeated the University of Central Florida in the playoffs and advanced to the round of sixteen, where they lost a close series to the CSL champions, the University of Western Ontario, 3-4.
10. University of California, San Diego
After it survived a grueling season in the West 1 Division, UC San Diego overcame the University of Victoria and UC Berkeley in the playoffs. The University of Utah ended UC San Diego’s playoff dreams 4-2 in the round of sixteen.
Most Valuable Players
The CSL sticks to a Proleague format for StarCraft II, which places heavy emphasis on team strength. However, there are still those individual players who have performed exemplarily and gone above and beyond to improve their teams’ standing.
1. Chris ‘Ostojiy’ Ostojic – University of Western Ontario (pictured above)
The ace player for the CSL champions reigned victorious in all his post-season matches. In the grand finals, Ostojiy’s macro proved far too much for his Terran opponent, Tornto’s Zero. Thanks to Ostojiy’s performance and leadership, Western Ontario was able to overcome its season record and secure the CSL StarCraft crown.
2. Henry ‘hendralisk’ Zheng – University of Toronto
The University of Toronto posted a perfect season record in the Northeast 1 Division thanks, in no small part, to the knowledgeable and talented hendralisk. In the post-season, hendralisk dropped a couple of maps but he came through when it counted. In the semi-finals against UT Austin, hendralisk held off hellokitty’s Blink Stalker timing to win the ace match and secure Toronto’s place in the finals. Hendralisk also won his match in the grand finals against Western Ontario’s BlackOwl. Unfortunately, that was Toronto’s only map point in the series.
3. Zifeng ‘hellokitty’ Wang – University of Texas at Austin
Many CSL fans considered UT Austin as a favorite to win the championship. Much of that confidence stemmed from former Fnatic StarCraft II pro Zifeng ‘hellokitty’ Wang. Hellokitty’s innovative Protoss play helped UT Austin achieve an undefeated season. In the playoffs, he posted a perfect map record until he finally dropped a game in the semi-finals ace match against Toronto’s hendralisk. Hellokitty also led UT Austin in a sweep of the powerhouse University of Utah. Hellokitty has since retired from StarCraft II and we at the Collegiate StarLeague wish him the best of luck in all his future endeavors.
Honorable Mention – University of Chicago Collegiate StarCraft Team
The University of Chicago achieved great things this past season. Besides posting a perfect 8-0 record in season play, the Chicago StarCraft squad made it to the round of four. What makes this story even more remarkable is that Chicago was the only round of four team that didn’t feature a StarCraft II pro on its roster.
“The University of Chicago was the Cinderella story of the year, overcoming their ranks to come out on top with an undefeated regular season record in the MidWest 2 Division,” stated Collegiate StarLeague Production Director and noted StarCraft II caster Daniil ‘CheeseHeadLogic’ Pauley. “Chicago easily became one of my favorite teams to follow as the season went along. Great job to all at the University of Chicago!”
Interesting facts about 2013-2014
- The semi-finals series between the University of Texas at Austin and the University of Toronto was Zifeng ‘hellokitty’ Wang’s final series as a professional-StarCraft II player.
- The reigning CSL champion, the University of Western Ontario, barely made it into the playoffs. The team secured a spot in the post-season via a wildcard qualifier.
- The finals between the University of Toronto and the University of Western Ontario represents the second time the CSL hosted an all-Canadian StarCraft championship series. The season four grand finals between the University of British Colombia and the University of Waterloo were the first.
- The CSL playoffs were rich with pro-talent. Players such as ROOT Gaming’s Patrick ‘Caliber’ Coury, Lok-Yin ‘KawaiiRice’ Kwong, and Fnatic’s Zifeng ‘hellokitty’ Wang, among others, competed for their schools’ eSports bragging rights. The grand finals featured pro-gamers Chris ‘Ostojiy’ Ostojic and compLexity Gaming’s Henry ‘hendralisk’ Zheng.
- University of California, Berkeley was Suppy-less last season but it still managed to eke out a 6-2 season record in the highly competitive West 1 Division. The Bears lost in the second round of the playoffs to UC San Diego.
- The CSL Finals took place at Major League Gaming Anaheim. In addition to duking it out for the CSL championship, Ostijiy and hendralisk also participated in the MLG open bracket. Former CSL Season 5 champion binskii also battled through the MLG bracket!
Hopefully this gave a glimpse of understanding into the craziness that was last season’s StarCraft II collegiate league. Each season exhibits new and unique stories about the players and schools that compete in the CSL. This year will prove likewise so stay tuned and join us for this year’s unfolding drama!
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