PCA&D’s League of Legends esports team wins championship

PCA&D’s League of Legends champions: Rebecca Resnick, Lucas Smith, Jahill Nazaire, Kevin Sun, Noah Sams, and LaNee Thomas.

Teamwork, play critique, and communication — all keys to success when playing esports. 

And PCA&D’s League of Legends esports team does them all well… so well, in fact, that they are the Playfly College Esports Open Plus East Conference Champions!

The team is made up of co-captains Rebecca Resnick, a senior Design Thinking major, and Lucas Smith ’25, Illustration; along with Jahill Nazaire ’28, Animation & Game Art; Noah Sams ’27, Animation & Game Art; Kevin Sun ’27, Illustration; and LaNee Thomas ’27, Animation & Game Art. 

In League of Legends, teams of five players battle to defend their section of a map, each player controlling a “champion” that has unique abilities. “I enjoy the challenges of timing, listening to your teammates effectively, and learning new champions to help counter your enemies’ picks along with learning matchups when they counterpick you,” Resnick said of the strategy-filled competition.  “The dedicated practice as a team and individually on our own time helped our success. In addition, we would review our games to critique our gameplay to improve for later games.”

It’s the first championship at this level for PCA&D’s esports teams, though Overwatch teams have qualified in the past for playoffs. Esports arrived at PCA&D in 2021, springing from the Competitive Gaming Club and part of an overall strategy of expanding options for experiential learning at the College. The College also offers a minor in Esports Management, a nod to the influence of an economically growing industry.