College Clash Finally
Topic: CS:GO College Clash + Spencer "Pugg" Moore Interview
The IMC College Clash has concluded as of January 10th, and the teams competing put on a show. Amassing over 200 average viewers on the final day of the tournament, many North American fans got to watch some excellent CS. The Semi-finals were underway with the matches of Highlander Gaming, versus IniquityUniversity, and Michigan Mittens against UW-Irvine.
Exciting Semi-Final Matches
Iniquity and the Highlanders both jumped into their match with a lot of momentum. Both of the squads had hardly any trouble making it to the semi’s; easily getting past their previous opponents. The series started off with a competitive Overpass game, where Iniquity found the win with a 16-11 score line. Going into map two on Nuke, Highlander was deflated, being easily swept aside by Iniquity once again. The series ended 2-0 for Iniquity, who came into the event being relatively unknown.
On the opposing end of the bracket, the match of Michigan Mittens versus UW-Irvine was taking place. Michigan came into the semi finals match looking fierce – at this point they had not lost more than nine rounds the whole event. Their confidence was evident all throughout map one, where they battered Irvine on Inferno, leaving the score: 16-4. After setting the nine round precedent throughout the tournament, Michigan kept the trend going taking Overpass with a convincing 16-9 victory.
Third Place Decider
In the third place match, Highlander fought hard through the series to take down UW-Irvine. After forfeiting map one, they were in a tough spot starting down 0-1. Highlander however, bounced back, and took map two convincingly, winning 16-9. Both rosters wanted this win badly, this being evident, in a tight third map. Pushing to all 30 rounds of regulation, the Highlanders eventually took the series 16-14, securing their third place finish in the event.
Grand Final
The final match of the event took place under the eyes of many. With a great series taking place between the finalists, spectators got a great show. On map one, (Vertigo), Iniquity came out with a determination to usurp the favorites of the event, winning game one 16-13. After a thriller of a first match, Michigan fought through a nail biter of a second match. Battling through a 30 round Inferno match, the Mittens squeaked past just barely winning 16-14. The series was coming to a close after two riveting games. Map three was Nuke, the decider of the grand final. After a stellar performance throughout the tournament, the Michigan Mittens wouldn’t go down. They ended up toppling Iniquity 16-11, and secured the IMC College Clash finals. In a tight series Michigan took it all.
Interview With The Winning Captain
After the huge win, I got to have a word with Spencer "Pugg" Moore, the captain and In-Game-Leader of the Michigan Mittens, and he had a lot to say..
"What did the win mean to you and the boys?"
Pugg: " This win was big for us because we had been in a bit of a low spot as a team through December and revitalized us in a way to get us excited for the future."
"Was arcade leaving a big surprise for you and the team?"
Pugg: "I foresaw it with time, I think John was the player we needed initially when we signed him and is obviously a very talented individual, but it was no secret there was tension and conflict towards the end within the team that was happening. In order for us to reach our goal, we needed to reassess and take a new professional stance within our team which is something our new coach Koi brought in. I think John will be more comfortable online with his new team."
"How does your school feel about your wins?"
Pugg: "They're very happy, no matter what they'll benefit from it. They're all very supportive, and the director really likes when we win. Obviously the more we win the more funding we get. If we do get to meet the Liquid players from winning the college clash, it breathes new life into our true potential as meeting legends like Liquid only drives us to be as good as them."
"What are you and the team's aspirations moving forward after this win?"
Pugg: "I think we can make it to the Premier, at the same time our goal is to make relegation. Initially our goal was to make Premier within 3 seasons. Our main goal this season is to make the relegation tournament and place top 4 in Advanced but make Premier by season 41."
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