Morwall Magpies

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Morwall Magpies
Morwall Magpies logo.svg
Full nameUniversity of Morwall Esports Club – The Magpies
NicknamesThe Magpies
Short nameMorwall Magpies
FoundedOctober 3, 2015 (2015-10-03)
(University club)
November 17, 2021 (2021-11-17)
(Professional team)
LeagueEEAL
DivisionEstmerish Division
RegionEast Euclea
Based inMorwall
LocationEstmere
ColoursPurple and White    
Head coachEd Calhoun
MascotMagpie
Members5
Main sponsorUniversity 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

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  Estmere 2018 23
Top Roamer Chloë Weaver silentsiren  Estmere 2022 19
Mid Laner Robin Scott xX_RascaL_Xx  Estmere 2021 20
Bot Roamer Mae Leung maemae_  Nakong 2023 18
Bot Laner Nakao Toyotomi estaku  Senria 2018 22

Reserve Avatar players

Role Name Handle Nationality Year Joined Age
Bot Roamer Caitlin Hill LilHil  Estmere 2020 24

Former Avatar players

Role Name Handle Nationality Career Age
Top Laner Simon Cooper CopperSi  Estmere 2015-2018 26
Bot Laner Zac Jackson zaczaczac  Estmere 2015-2018 27
Mid Laner Ed Calhoun zounhoun  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

  1. "From nerdy society to Invictus competitors: the Morwall Magpies story". Tick, Tack, Tomahawk. 2 February 2023.
  2. @EBS_News (7 December 2022). "A disappointing first three games for the @MorwallMagpies at #Avatar2022". Chirper. Retrieved 1 July 2023.