The esports team closed its season with a loss to the University of North Carolina Tar Heels in the first round of the PlayVS League of Legends exhibition playoffs 1-2.

The Pride won the first of three rounds but could not capitalize on their lead.

“Although we went 1-2 in the series, playing against this team definitely helped us understand what our mistakes were,” said freshman Brandon Batara. “Not every match will be a win and each loss is a lesson for us as a team to improve on.”

Freshmen Nicholas Liao and Dylan Jones led the Pride’s performance with 5.0 and 3.66 kill-death-assist ratios respectively across the three-game series. In League of Legends, a KDA of 2.0 or more is notable.

Liao remains optimistic after the loss.

“Our team is still very new, so I can’t expect to win every game. We played well, but the opposing team played better,” said Liao.

Freshman Felix Barrera shares Liao’s positive outlook.

“Our previous matches could’ve [gone] better but learning from our mistakes in these games is pivotal for future matches,” he said. “Overall, I felt that each of us were focused on different areas in the game and had mixes [in-game callouts] as a result, so our performance can definitely improve.”

PNW entered the playoff phase of the competition after winning two back-to-back series against the Wichita State University Shockers. It was the seventh seed of 32 teams.

The UNC match was the final series on the esports team’s schedule this semester. Its next regular season will begin in January.