Heroes of the Dorm 2017 is the story of four teams all competing for the same thing. If the allure of paid tuition wasn’t enough to motivate them, the glory and regional pride of winning one of the most prestigious collegiate esports events is sure to do the trick.

However, even though all four teams have rightfully earned their spot, there are two teams that seem to stand out in the minds of fans and commentators alike. They are University of Texas at Arlington, the perfect record veterans that threaten total domination and University of California Irvine, the team tasked with stopping them.

The Hunter

UTA knows they are the best team at Dorm this year and they aren’t shy about saying it. When asked during a pre-game press briefing, UTA’s team captain Yusuf ‘Kure’ Sunka brought their aggressive philosophy to light:

“We are the only team to return from the final four last year and the psychological advantage when you are the favorite is a good thing. Last year we were the hunted, but not his year. We are playing to that strength”

UTA identifies a team’s weakness and then exploits it completely. They went on to explain how almost every dorm team “has holes in their play” and that their strategy has always been about uncovering that. Heroes mainstay, Eugene ‘Yuuj’ Tseng phrased it simply: “we surprise our opponents with how aggressive we are and then it’s too late”.

UTA doesn’t have to convince the other dorm teams they are the favorites to win-- they all already know that. But what about the untested members of UTA, Toby ‘Etoby’ Park and Kevin ‘Ekevin’ Park? These two have never played on the Dorm mainstage before and nerves can slip up even the most mechanically gifted players. When questioned, Kure had this to say:

“We try to calm our new players as much as we can. Thankfully, Toby and Kevin and very calm in general but us experienced players are there to remind our team we just have to take one game at a time. If we lose, it will only be on the draft screen”

UTA has two clear leaders: Kure and Yuuj. They have surrounded themselves with extremely talented players that benefit from their leadership and confidence. One particularly telling moment occurred when a reporter reminded the team that LSU has publically stated they want to face UTA in the grand finals.

The entirety of UTA smiled and looked at each other. “How do we respond to that?” they all seemed to collectively think. Kure never hesitated, delivering the brutal quip “We already beat them twice, if they want to lose a third time, we are down.”

The Hunted

In almost complete opposition to UTA’s calculated confidence (and subsequent awareness of the expectations placed on them), UCI looks like a team without a care in the world. Their press conference? Filled with laughter and jokes. Their view of themselves? Comfortable underdogs that have nothing to lose.

When questioned about their upcoming match against UTA, Cameron ‘blahty’ Mar put it frankly:

“Obviously UTA is the favorite to win. From what I am hearing, everyone expects us to stop them. If we don’t stop them, no one else will. We are the underdogs in this matchup but, for us, it’s a win-win. We either cause the huge upset or play our role, lose to UTA, and celebrate in Vegas!”

The teams shared humor is hard to ignore and, believe it or not, actually has strategic implications. The team explained that flaming each other and coming up with unique insults during game is their de facto way of keeping it fun and avoiding tilt. Ryan ‘protogoes’ Griswold elaborated the importance of their flippant team dynamic:

“If you are so focused and you make a mistake, you know it. Everyone knows it and you are stuck staring at a screen for 20 seconds. If you start dwelling on that, you are going to feel bad so we diffuse the tension with a funny flame”

UCI seems just happy to be here. They made it to the round of 16 last year, but were eliminated before any main-stage exposure. This year, everything is different. Not only are they representing their school's newly founded esports program, but the level of support they have received this year has kept their spirits high.

During the tournament, the team has enjoyed hyped professors excusing them from class in order to play, on-campus viewing parties, fanmade Facebook groups and even being recognized on campus by their peers. Regardless of what happens, UCI already feels content with what they have accomplished.

But this is esports. No team wants to lose and mistaking UCI’s jovial attitude for a lack of focus is a big mistake. Protoges went on to explain that UCI is actually counting this misconception when facing UTA:

“We have a lot of different styles of play. We will be strongest when we can use our established strategies and predict UTA. We know they are confident they can beat us, but we are going to use that against them. We already know they will play aggressive.”

Just moments before the UCI v. UTA match.

The inevitable clash between UCI and UTA was something out of a storybook and promised to be one of the most entertaining David and Goliath matches of the tournament. However, truth is not always stranger than fiction, and UCI went on to lose 0-2 against the dominant UTA.

As commentator Wade “Dreadnaught” Penfold said: “The best version of UCI showed up, but it just wasn’t enough”