Morwall Magpies

Morwall Magpies

Full name	University of Morwall Esports Club – The Magpies
Nicknames	The Magpies
Short name	Morwall Magpies
Founded	October 3, 2015 (2015-10-03) (University club) November 17, 2021 (2021-11-17) (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

Ed Calhoun (zounhoun), mid laner from 2017 to 2021 and coach since 2021.

Current Avatar roster

Role	Name	Handle	Nationality	Year Joined	Age
Top Laner	John Turner	dr_dooda	Template:Country data Estmere	2018	23
Top Roamer	Chloë Weaver	silentsiren	Template:Country data Estmere	2022	20
Mid Laner	Robin Scott	xX_RascaL_Xx	Template:Country data Estmere	2021	20
Bot Roamer	Mae Leung	maemae_	Nakong	2023	19
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
Top Roamer	Hungwe Kombayi	WEKOMB	Rwizikuru	2019-2022	22
Bot Roamer	Caitlin Hill	LilHil	Template:Country data Estmere	2020-2023	24