Mountain West Esports Series ~ Boise State semifinal match recap –
by Brandon Benoit
Boise State’s League of Legends team fell short after losing to Colorado State University
in the Mountain West Esports Series semifinal match. In a grueling 5 game set, each team
pushed each other to the limit starting the series off with a bloody 1.3 kill a minute game, giving
BSU a 1-0 lead. Game two featured a fiesta with 91 total kills in a taxing span of 55 minutes
where Colorado State pushed to victory. Boise State had control for the majority of the game,
but a blundered team fight gave CSU position to fight back. Back and forth, each team traded 4k
gold leads until CSU took the game. Boise State kept their composure and closed Game 3 pre
30 minutes followed by Colorado State taking game 4 in a similarly dominant fashion forcing
game 5.
Team comps in game 5 gave insight on how each team wanted to play the game. Boise
State had an exciting draft with Janna, Karma solo lanes, Zac jungle, and double marksman bot
with Ashe and Senna. On the other side of the rift, CSU took their comfort picks of Camille,
Kayn and Ekko, rounding out their comp with an Aphelios and Braum bot lane. Boise State’s
game plan was simple: funnel Ashe and have Gimmick carry the team. They started strong with
a 2k gold lead allowing their game plan to flourish as Ashe picked up a few kills. But the
constant fighting took away Ashe’s ability to farm allowing Kayn and Ekko into the game. Boise
State’s game was strong, but a miscalculated tower dive at 20 minutes gave Colorado State the
power they needed to eventually win the game.
Despite Boise State’s clean closure of game 3, the series felt lost after game 2. The
taxing 55 minute game 2 was detrimental to Boise State’s mental game, especially as some of
the players felt as though they threw that game. For many players, winning game 3 for a 2-1
series lead should make the mental push to victory slightly easier. Unfortunately, for these
players, the mental strain from game 2 was heavier than they thought. Colorado State, in the
end, kept playing and took the series off the back of Ritual’s 3-0 Kayn punching their ticket to
Las Vegas.