‘League of Legends’ club brings gaming experience to a new level at UCLA

A crowd of about 30 students behind computer screens surrounded third-year computer science student Alex Wang as he introduced himself.

“Hi, my name is Alex. My summoner name is icylovefails. My favorite champion is Singed, and I have flash bound to F,” Wang said.

There was no confusion, no one asking questions; just a simple nod of approval as each member in the group followed Wang’s example.

Thus began the first spring quarter meeting of UCLA’s first-ever “League of Legends” club. Emerging from a Facebook group to official club status this academic year, the “League of Legends” club is a group centered around the popular online game of the same name. The club aims to develop a community of gamers and host events like “Battle for SoCal,” an intercollegiate tournament that launches online tomorrow.

“The goal of this club is to create a community around the game that is more than just a virtual presence,” said second-year physiological science student Kayl Eubanks, the club’s president. “We discuss how best to play the game, how to improve our own playing, and play together.”

“League of Legends,” the heart and blood of the club, is a free multiplayer game developed by Riot Games. Players compete in teams of five, each player controlling a specific character with a specific role. Since its inception in 2009, “League of Legends” has dominated the multiplayer online battle arena genre and has developed a massive following with its own subculture, complete with a professional and collegiate community, star YouTube players and its own lingo and lore.

The seeds of UCLA’s “League of Legends” club were planted in late 2011, when three UCLA students decided to start a Facebook group to create a community of “League of Legends” players. As the group grew to more than 300 members in a few months, the members and founders of the club decided to make it official. The club received its signatory and charter last November, and held its first meeting the following month.

“I never expected it to become as big as it is, I thought it was just fun to do,” said recent UCLA graduate and club co-founder Danny Jung. “I never planned to start the organization, but since so many people were interested, I looked into it.”

Although in its infancy, UCLA’s “League of Legends” club has many tournaments in the works. The club staff has been collaborating with the administrations of UC Irvine, UC San Diego, USC and San Diego State University to host the Battle for SoCal, a tournament open to college teams from across Southern California.

Battle for SoCal will launch online tomorrow for all registered teams to rack up as many points as they can through victories and participation. In May, the top qualifying teams will compete in a live event hosted at UC Irvine.

“I’m really excited for the Battle for SoCal, because nothing on this scale to my knowledge has been pulled before by volunteers who don’t get paid,” Eubanks said. “We hope this will be a huge pull for the collegiate scene.”

The professional “League of Legends” scene is already established in the mainstream, but the collegiate scene, despite having willing players and widely accessible Internet on campus, is not at that level. Getting the Southern California collegiate scene there is what the club and Battle for SoCal pushes for, Wang said.

Companies seem to have taken notice of this movement. Riot Games has given the club an assortment of in-game character-themed prizes, including Pentakill wristbands, Teemo hats and a Blitzcrank hoodie, to be distributed to its members.

These prizes and information about competitive events like Battle for SoCal provide an incentive for many of the members to attend meetings, but some members are drawn by other aspects of the club.

“My favorite part about the club is the aspect of social game play,” said fourth-year computer science student Nikolaas Van Wonterghem, the club treasurer. “Most of the time, you play online and don’t get to meet (other players), but in this club, you get to meet in real life an actual group of people you play with.”

Although the club doesn’t seek out those who have never played before, it definitely provides a learning environment for players who are new to the game, Jung said.

Each member of the club had their own hot tip to offer to players new to the game, such as always playing the most overpowered mid-lane and top-lane that’s out and never chasing Singed. Despite the technical game terms and in-game lingo flying around the room, there was a simple message each of them delivered: Stick with it, and have fun with “League of Legends.”

“We want this club to help people meet others with similar interests,” Wang said. “Our club is built on relationships.”