By Zenaida Serrano Arvman. Repost from Ka Puna O Kalo’i – March 18. 2024.
The University of Hawai‘i–West O‘ahu Pueo Gaming esports club received last month a long-awaited trophy for winning its first championship in League of Legends in the National Esports Collegiate Conference (NECC) Emergents West Division in December.
Pueo Gaming League of Legends team members Melanie Denda, Trey Lum, Ari Nicholson, Cyrus Olivas, Josh Sato, and Darryl Tsutsui represented UH West O‘ahu on Dec. 6 at the finals match against Mid-America Christian University (MACU) from Oklahoma.
“This championship helped recognize the school and the club at a national level,” said Garrett Lau, president of Pueo Gaming. “Most colleges don’t hold an esports title yet, so it’s nice to still be one of the first schools to do it.”
The NECC began sponsoring esports in fall 2020. According to its website, with more than 300 colleges and universities currently competing in the conference, the NECC strives to be a positive home for the collegiate gaming community.
Pueo Gaming was founded in fall 2020 and didn’t start competing in national competition until fall 2021. Since then, Pueo Gaming has competed in both local and national tournaments in various game titles, Lau said.
The NECC Emergents West Division finals match in December for League of Legends (LoL) — a team-based strategy game where two teams of five champions face off to destroy the other’s base, according to the LoL website — was a best-of-five series (the first to win three games, with a max amount of games reaching five total) that lasted about five hours.
“MACU came out the gate strong winning the first game in convincing fashion, but Pueo Gaming quickly bounced back to win the next game, tying it at 1-1,” Lau said. “MACU pulled out a victory in the next game to make it match point, but Pueo Gaming won the next two to win their first ever national championship.”
Pueo Gaming LoL team captain Cyrus Olivas said the championship win doesn’t feel real.
“I have been part of this team for a few years and each time we played it was so much fun!” Olivas said. “This time around it seemed like winning was an actual possibility so it became stressful quickly, but that never took away from the enjoyment of the experience.”
Micah Murakami, Pueo Gaming LoL team coach, said he’s very proud of the team.
“The things that led to our success was understanding each other and playing around our weaknesses and strengths, while keeping this in mind having a plan for every game and what we wanted to do,” Murakami said. “It was very nice to see everyone on the team improve and watch everyone grow.”
Pueo Gaming advisor Ryan Perreira said the win was awesome and shared his pride and happiness, as well.
“We are a small gaming community at UH West O‘ahu and it shows that we are able to compete with anyone,” Perreira said.
Perreira also commended Lau, and former and current members, for “establishing this club, keeping it viable and sustainable, making it a safe environment to be in, and achieving high levels of competition,” he said.
Lau expressed his gratitude toward those who have supported the club, including Perreira; former advisors Rian-Angelica Barreras and Samantha Giridhar; UH West O‘ahu Student Life Director Rouel Velasco; UH Mānoa Esports Program Director Nyle Sky Kauweloa; Hawai‘i Pacific University (HPU) Esports Director Jordan Oliver; and HPU Esports Technician Kevin Rebollo (the Pueo Gaming LoL team were welcome to play and practice at the HPU Esports Arena).
While Pueo Gaming LoL is not in season this semester, with its win in the fall, the team qualifies for the NECC Nationals Tournament at the end of this school year; NECC tournament details are pending. In the meantime, the team is hopeful that with this championship win, they can push for an esports program at UH West O‘ahu in the near future, as well as a dedicated space with proper equipment on campus where they can practice.
“Thank you to everyone who supported us and we hope to keep making all of you proud in the future as we look to bring home more championships to UH West O‘ahu!” Lau said.
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