Categories: LIFE

Come battle with the League of Legends

BY RYAN PRESTON
Contributor

With over 94 million active users, according to a 2014 Forbes article, the popular multiplayer online battle arena (MOBA) League of Legends (LoL) Club is becoming common among many college campuses and Washtenaw Community College is no exception.

For those not familiar with LoL, it is a team based game in which 10 players in opposing teams of five control characters, or champions, and strategically attempt to destroy the other team’s home base, or nexus, using a variety of techniques and strategies.

The club was founded last year at WCC. It started when current President Kenneth Boozer, 21, culinary arts major from, inherited the responsibility from a man whom he only described as Jack. “Jack,” the original founder of the club had to give up on it to pursue other ventures. Since then, Boozer has run the club and gotten its membership to nine active members – and about six others who drop in and drop out depending on the week.

“I play for the dedication… you can’t just pick up LoL and play at the highest skill level,” Boozer said.

There is a mix of competitive and fun elements within the club’s dynamics. For instance, Boozer wants the club to lean toward a serious college team, with schools like U-M having established teams in place, while other members just want to enjoy the game and play for fun.

21-year-old Emmanuel Jones, accounting major from Ypsilanti is a member of the club. When asked why he joined he responded, “Playing with friends, but my girlfriend knows more than me,” Jones said laughingly.

A typical club meeting involves discussing the current “Meta” – the strategies that are working this season.

“Team compositions are always an important issue,” Boozer said about what they discuss at weekly meetings.

After addressing any issues or concerns they have that week, they talk about recruiting, which at this point has been through the occasional fliers and word of mouth. The club is open to every skill level – even those who are unfamiliar with the game. Meetings will happen every Friday starting September 11th.

“Come by and see what we’re about,” Boozer said.