Introducing The University of Texas at Arlington
The University of Texas at Arlington official Esports program has been around since 2019. UT Arlington made their debut in the Collegiate Rocket League in Fall 2019, receiving 8th place out of the entire western conference. Swapping between their original roster of Genghis, Adverse, Echo, Samba, and Nava for a few semesters, they have finally secured their roster of Adverse, Samba, and Nava. UTA is no stranger to CRL, as they have advanced through League Play every season since Fall 2019.
This team has a lot of experience under their belt besides simply competing for their University. Samba is currently Rank A in the official RL 6 Mans (NA) Discord and Adverse has competed with multiple teams in B-tier tournaments. While Samba and Adverse have been in the competitive Rocket League scene for a while, Nava is a newer face to the competition. It’s no secret that Samba and Adverse are much more aggressive players than Nava, so the question comes down to, “how does Nava fit in with their more aggressive playstyle?”
Consistency is Key
If you watch any Rocket League stream, you will see just how much work all of the UT Arlington boys have been putting in this season. Samba says, “I think our biggest hurdle was being consistent as a team. Everyone knows we have had the potential to be a top team in CRL, but we have never been consistent before this season.” He also mentions that it is important to not underestimate any team, as they are all going to the World Championships for a reason. UTA is trying to maintain their focus on the teams specifically in their group such as The University of Nevada Las Vegas (UNLV), Portsmouth, and Penn State.
Consistency is something that Adverse can definitely say he has built up over time. Based on the public CRL stats sheet, Adverse is the leading #1 MVP in the West and UT Arlington leads the other West teams in CRL Worlds with the most points per game. Consistency looks different on every team, but the main thing they did was practice and scrim with as many different CRL teams as possible. This not only strengthens team chemistry, it also helps with the consistency and solidification of individual player mechanics.
With this roster of players, they competed in countless online tournaments in 2021 and that really prepared them for the brackets and seeding placements of Collegiate Rocket League Spring 2022. Any tournament experience is still experience and it is extremely wise to play in any tournament that a team can find. This really helped their consistency by allowing them to review replays of their gameplay against teams of all skill levels.
Excitement for LAN
For esports, all LAN came to a halt in 2020 due to the covid pandemic. With restrictions loosening all over the world, CRL Worlds is something that every single team is looking forward to. This will be UT Arlington’s second ever LAN as a team featuring Samba, Adverse, and Nava, so they are very grateful and ready for this opportunity to play in front of a crowd. Not to mention that this is an International LAN, so it is most CRL players first ever International LAN. The UTA boys are so grateful for the opportunity to compete on the main stage with so many talented teams and feel ready to play.
Something that fans should be excited about is seeing all the hard work and consistency that UTA has dedicated their time to. The UTA boys are no strangers to large brackets and lots of prizing on the line. They have not only competed in multiple seasons of Collegiate Rocket League, they have also competed in CCA Summer Series, Collegiate Esports Invitational, and the Level Next Spring Showcase. In CRL League Play, UT Arlington went 12-3 and going to the World Championships for CRL is surely the biggest achievement this squad has accomplished so far.
Follow the Action
The University of Texas at Arlington begins Worlds with a Group Stage Best-of-5 against The University of Nevada Las Vegas. Watch it on the Rocket League Twitch on June 3 at 11 a.m. CT (4 p.m. UTC).
Match results and brackets will be posted on both the College Carball Twitter and the Rocket League Esports Twitter.
Check out the schedule so you don’t miss the first CRL World Championship!
