Morwall Magpies
 | |
| Full name | University of Morwall Esports Club – The Magpies |
|---|---|
| Nicknames | The Magpies |
| Short name | Morwall Magpies |
| Founded | October 3, 2015 (University club) November 17, 2021 (Professional team) |
| League | EEAL |
| Division | Estmerish Division |
| Region | East Euclea |
| Based in | Morwall |
| Location | Estmere |
| Colours | Purple and White |
| Head coach | Ed Calhoun |
| Mascot | Magpie |
| Members | 5 |
| Main sponsor | University of Morwall |
The Morwall Magpies, officially the University of Morwall Esports Club – The Magpies, is a professional esports team based in Morwall, Estmere. The club specialises in playing Avatar. The team was first founded as a society and sports club of the Morwall University Students' Union in 2015, and was largely regarded as an amateur team. It competed in a number of amateur tournaments, such as the Estmere Varsity Sports League esports tournament which they won in 2018 and 2020. In 2021, the club rose to greater prominence when it almost qualified for the 2021 Avatar World Championship. This has led to the University of Morwall becoming the team's official sponsor, increasing funding, and granting the team's members extended leave from their studies in order to become a professional club. The Magpies now hope to qualify for the 2022 championship.
History
Creation and amateur team
The club was first founded in the October of 2015, as the first esports society at the Morwall University Students' Union, by Simon Cooper and Zac Jackson, who had left the similar Morwall University Gaming Society after falling out with other committee members. In order to found the new society - which had to be distinct - Cooper described the society as one revolving around esports, particularly Avatar, rather than casual gaming. Cooper, Jackson and the other first generation of society members graduated in 2018, so recruited new members to keep the society going. These included Ed Calhoun, John Turner and Nakao Toyotomi.
Calhoun, Turner and Toyotomi (also known by their usernames zounhoun, dr_dooda and estaku) were old friends, and committed the team to taking part in amateur tournaments. The greatest example of this was the esports tournament organised by the Estmere Varsity Sports League, which was a tournament comprising esports clubs from univeristies across Estmere. They entered this tournament in 2018 as a dark horse, and won the contest after beating the Harbrough Harlots in the final round, in an upset victory. The planned to compete in the 2019 tournament, but had to withdraw due to personal reasons. They returned in the 2020 tournament, and secured a second victory, this time over the Bouley Bloodletters. After this victory, with two amateur victories under their belts, Calhoun was approached by the university administration, who offered support and funding if the team wanted to compete in the 2021 Avatar World Championship. The team accepted, and almost qualified for one of the two East Euclea spots, but in the regional play-offs came only third place.
Professional team
The University of Morwall offered to support the team fully, even though the team did not qualify for the 2021 championship, due to its strong showing. The university became the teams official sponsor, and the Magpies were now among the most highly-funded teams in the university. The university also made the almost-unprecedented decision to grant the team's members extended leave from their studies in order to dedicate themselves to training for and competing in the upcoming 2022 championship. Calhoun stepped back from playing and became the team's coach, while a number of newer members also joined the team. Hungwe Kombayi (WEKOMB) and Caitlin Hill (LilHil) had joined in 2019 and 2020 respectively, while new mid laner Robin Scott (xX_RascaL_Xx) joined in 2021 to replace Calhoun.
Players
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Current Avatar roster
| Role | Name | Handle | Nationality | Year Joined | Age |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Top Laner | John Turner | dr_dooda | Template:Country data Estmere | 2018 | 23 |
| Top Roamer | Hungwe Kombayi | WEKOMB | File:RwizikuruFlag.PNG Rwizikuru | 2019 | 22 |
| Mid Laner | Robin Scott | xX_RascaL_Xx | Template:Country data Estmere | 2021 | 21 |
| Bot Roamer | Caitlin Hill | LilHil | Template:Country data Estmere | 2020 | 25 |
| Bot Laner | Nakao Toyotomi | estaku |  Senria
|
2018 | 23 |
Former Avatar players
| Role | Name | Handle | Nationality | Career | Age |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Top Laner | Simon Cooper | CopperSi | Template:Country data Estmere | 2015-2018 | 27 |
| Bot Laner | Zac Jackson | zaczaczac | Template:Country data Estmere | 2015-2018 | 28 |
| Mid Laner | Ed Calhoun | zounhoun | Template:Country data Estmere | 2017-2021 | 24 |