This week, Conquest spirit did not only emanate from the music notes at McCarthy Quad and the roars of the fans at the Rose Bowl but also through the screens of enthusiastic gamers in Alumni Park.
On Thursday, November 21st, USC Esports welcomed UCLA Esports for their annual E-Conquest clash. This year, the event was sponsored by ASUS ROG.
The rival schools faced off in League of Legends, Overwatch 2, Valorant, Rocket League and Super Smash Bros. Ultimate. The Trojan Tetris Team that was freshly created last semester was also part of the lineup, stepping up to fill the shoes of the now disbanded Trojan Hearthstone team who had been key in beating the Bruins last year.
UCLA came to campus to avenge their 4-2 defeat of the last E-Conquest - and avenge they did! Despite their best efforts, the six Trojan teams were bested in their respective esports by the Bruins. Yet, everyone involved seemed to have a great time, emphasizing the friendly spirit of this event.
The Trojans will have a shot at redemption on Monday as they travel to UCLA’s campus for a rematch.
UCLA came to play
The evening started with an exciting match of Valorant. UCLA took an early lead in both games and pulled through to the finish line, with a well-deserved 2-0 victory. The Cardinal team still had some shining moments, notably Kamdin “Zundga” Madorin subbing in for the second map and pulling off a clutch 1 vs 3 round victory.
When speaking of his team’s performance, USC’s Valorant team manager Edward Wang said: “A fun time was had throughout, and we look forward to returning the favor on UCLA’s home turf on Monday.”
During the Valorant match, the rookie Trojan Tetris Team faced off the highly experienced UCLA players. This resulted in a commanding 5-1 victory for the Bruins, with USC’s captain Qepsi clutching the only Trojan point. Despite the difference in level, some games came down to the wire. The match opposing USC’s Danny “DONTSMOK” Zheng vs UCLA’s “Oxfordvalley” was particularly intense and a lot closer than expected. After a 4-6 deficit, Zheng brought it back to 6-6. In the end, the UCLA player snatched the 6-7 victory in front of a roaring crowd, despite a close tie-breaker.
After this set of games, Overwatch 2 was on the menu. With the Trojan Overwatch team coming off a remarkable semester, this was a great opportunity to end the season on a high note. However, the Bruins did not relent and closed out an exciting 2-0 victory.
In parallel, the Super Smash Ultimate crew battles were starting. As USC completed their varsity rosters with three new players looking to get their footing in competitive play, UCLA looked to continue their night of victory with a 2-0 win. The Trojan MVP Jaden “j-den” Fragoso almost brought back the first game with his iconic Jigglypuff, stringing six stock wins in a row which was unfortunately not enough. During the second game, UCLA’s Josh “fishfishtime” Woo responded in kind by beating three players himself with his Steve which left USC too far behind to catch up.
League of Legends then took the stage, which resulted in UCLA walking home victorious in the game for the first time in E-Conquest history.
“They played extremely well and showed up with more prep and targeted bans than we’ve seen in the past. Just solid play all around and we tried to change things up but ultimately fell short. We’ll look to take back the game on their campus,” said USC Esports General Manager and League of Legends coach Joseph Jacko.
Rocket League closed out the event with the Trojan team looking for a strong win after a complicated season but ultimately fell short versus a more experienced UCLA due to certain mistakes. Despite this, the Trojans still “had a blast” according to team captain Vitor “vtr” Salomão.
The night concluded in a 6-0 blowout for UCLA, but the Trojan teams and fans were still enthralled by the ambiance. The crowd was roaring throughout all six matches, cheering on their respective school and favorite players. All USC teams reported having had a great time in continuing to build their respective rivalries against the Bruins.
“USC Smash had a great time facing off against the UCLA crew as both friends and rivals. [...] While the score went 2-0 in UCLA’s favor, regardless of the outcome, USC and UCLA smash are always happy to commentate with one another, compete against each other, and exchange some friendly banter,” said Super Smash Bros. Ultimate team manager Amari King.
A Production Success
E-conquest was also an important success in terms of production this year. The event was planned, produced, and animated by students, led by Master’s student Serena Garcia.
“From my perspective, I think the event went really well overall! It takes a village to produce a show of this caliber, and despite our numbers being low on the broadcast side of things, everyone who helped out on the production end stepped up to the plate and made my life a lot easier,” said Garcia.
They explained how much preparation was needed to make sure everything would work on the day of. From on-screen graphics to technical tests, the USC Esports team did an important amount of preparation for everything to run smoothly during broadcast.
Garcia also highlighted the great work put on by the teams that brought the matches to life through commentary.
“All of our casters did a phenomenal job being the on-camera talent. They were well spoken, knowledgeable about their respective titles, and brought a lot of energy to hype up the live audience and the online broadcast.”
Similarly, in-game camera work, also known as “observing,” was essential to broadcast the best experience to the audience.
“Our pool of observers [...] were all excellent at capturing all of the action for every title. Some observers were even observing new titles for the first time, but viewers probably couldn’t tell because they did a wonderful job at following my direction and executing their stories.”
This level of production professionalism seemed to be a defining factor in the success of the event. Jacko had some concluding thoughts:
“E-Conquest was a huge success, and I was thrilled with the turnout! USC’s production team delivered a top-tier stream in terms of production, talent and visuals while UCLA brought their A-game across all six titles. The rivalry was intense and the matches even more so, despite our losses I could not be more proud of everyone at USC who made E-Conquest possible, especially our students.”