Monday, Sept. 16, Milligan’s brand new Esports team won their first match against Baylor University. Jared Timmons, Jesse Timmons and John Hockema made up the Hearthstone Team that defeated Baylor 3-0.
Hearthstone is an online card game consisting of three players on each team. Each team brings four decks into the game, but each team gets to “ban” one of the opposing team’s deck. The first team to win with their three remaining deck wins the series.
For each game, both teams begin with their “hero” at full health, and the goal of the game is to bring the opponent’s health to zero. The winner is the best of five in a conquest format.
Coach Micah Ridley said, “Jared, Jesse and John were prepared and executed the plan very well.” Ridley explained that he was proud of what the team was able to accomplish, especially since it was the team’s first collegiate competition.
The Hearthstone collegiate series that Milligan competes in consists of 500 schools. For two months, the teams play a “round-robin style” where each team is guaranteed to play for those months. Following that time period, the victorious teams from each region will compete in “playoffs” which is a double-elimination tournament style.
The Esports team also plays other games in various leagues and tournaments. This fall the three-player Hearthstone team will compete in the The Esports Association league. A three-person Rocket League team competes in the National Association of Collegiate Esports league and will try to qualify for the Collegiate Rockets League that has scholarship money at stake.
A five-person League of Legends team will also compete this fall in the Upsurge Upsurge Minor League Division One league and then in the LoL in the spring. The National Basketball Association 2019 team is one player per Xbox or PS4 console and will compete in the Collegiate Star League this Fall.
Timmons says that the team prepares for games and matches by rewatching old footage, seeking out mistakes and observing what was well done. “We do a lot of practicing against one another or playing in ranked mode,” said Timmons.
Although most of the matches are played online, Milligan will be hosting a tournament on campus this fall.