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 which 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 qualified for the East Euclea Avatar League, and placed fourth in its first season played, almost qualifying for the 2021 Avatar World Championship.
The University of Morwall became the team's official sponsor from 2021 onward, increasing funding, and granting the team's members extended leave from their studies in order to become a professional club. The team placed first in the East Euclea league, qualifying for the 2022 championship, in which it placed joint sixth with Grupp FALKN. The team has also qualified for the 2023 tournament.[1]
The team has been coached by former player Ed Calhoun (zounhoun) since 2021.
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 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.
After a disappointing start, the team placed sixth in the 2022 championship, tied with with Grupp FALKN and winning a prize pot of €375,000.[2] The aftermath of the 2022 tournament saw Hungwe Kombayi (WEKOMB) acrimoniously split from the team, after an argument with fellow players about his conduct during the tournament. He was replaced as top roamer by Chloë Weaver (silentsiren). In early 2023, Caitlin Hill (LilHil) announced she would be stepping back from full-time professional play to focus on her education. She remains on the roster as the team's reserve player. Her position as bot roamer in the permanent team was taken up by Mae Leung (maemae_). Head coach Ed Calhoun also announced that Hill would be taking up some minor coaching responsibilities for the team in preparation for the 2023 tournament.
Members of the team represented Estmere at the 2022 Summer Invictus Games.
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 | 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 |
Reserve Avatar players
| Role | Name | Handle | Nationality | Year Joined | Age |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bot Roamer | Caitlin Hill | LilHil | Template:Country data Estmere | 2020 | 24 |
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 | File:RwizikuruFlag.PNG Rwizikuru | 2019-2022 | 22 |
Record and results
Avatar
| Year | East Euclea Avatar League | World Championship | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| P | W | L | D | Pos. | Playoffs | ||
| 2021 | 28 | 13 | 14 | -1 | 4th | 4th | Did not qualify |
| 2022 | 28 | 20 | 8 | 12 | 1st | Champions | 6th |
| 2023 | 28 | 15 | 13 | 2 | 3rd | Wildcard | TBA |
| Totals | 84 | 48 | 35 | 13 | |||
See also
References
- ↑ "From nerdy society to Invictus competitors: the Morwall Magpies story". Tick, Tack, Tomahawk. 2 February 2023.
- ↑ @EBS_News (7 December 2022). "A disappointing first three games for the @MorwallMagpies at #Avatar2022". Chirper. Retrieved 1 July 2023.