USC ESPORTS WRAP-UP #12 — “We Were Just Better”

Heya USC Games! To welcome back y’all back to another newsletter, we have another interview with two players from the Marvel Rivals team: Arielle Choi (Ezzy), support player and team manager, and Marco Chavez (Hades), the main tank. For next week’s newsletter, look out for board interviews and updates on E-Conquest.

1. What was one highlight from the Kettering University match up— a point that was exciting, stressful, funny?

Arielle: “There were some points that we had during this match where our gameplay was very very clean. We were definitely mechanically stronger, and through our clean macro, a lot of maps went by really quickly. We were just better.”

Marco: “The highlight would be when we were attacking, I got an ult on both supports— clean. A Mag rock.”

Arielle: “We banned out every support except for Invisible Woman and Loki— and we are very good at Invisible Woman and Loki— and they were not. So, a lot of strategic planning going into our ban phases as well.”

2. What’s something that a teammate did that you want to shout out? Or… What’s something that an opposing player did that you want to shout out?

Arielle: “Their Moon Knight, on one particular map, managed to push us so far back with just his raw aura. He didn’t even do anything, and we were just scared.”

Marco: “My Loki player, he hasn’t touched the character in such a long time, and he just managed to still be awesome at it. I got a lot of healing— from both my supports— but the way he just still be good at his characters and managed his resources—”

3. Why did you join the Marvel Rivals team? What do you love about it?

Marco: “About the Marvel Rivals team specifically, I love the friends I’ve made in it. I became really close with them really fast, and I was really— I don’t want to say lonely—  I just didn’t spend too much time outside my room during the majority of my first year. In my second year, they’ve made me feel more at home here in California so far from my family.”

Arielle: “I made this team. I made this team, and I’m very proud of it. We have a lot of really positive figures here and our casual community is very active as well. We have a lot of lower level players, we have a lot of high elo players, we have a couple of pro players in our server that sometimes poke their heads in and say ‘hi.’ I’m just really glad that people were able to find a space to play this game that we all enjoy. Like Marco said, I’m glad that people like Marco were able to find a community here and that I was able to help some of the underclassmen.”

4. How do you feel about E-Conquest? What do you look forward to about it? What are you worried about?

Marco: “I am sooo excited for it. This is my first year, and I just want to compete on the stage, and I just want to beat UCLA. Fight on! Show off our skills, our team.”

Arielle: “I’m so excited to show off our school spirit during this rivalry showcase match and we’re gonna be able to see all these students working so hard throughout this semester to improve their skills and now we get to show it off to an audience! Really excited to see what everyone brings to the table.”