With identical University of League of Legends Big Ten championship medals around each of their necks, it's hard to tell the difference between Maryland students and twin brothers Ben "Void" Xue and Jason "Nano" Xue. After making it through the regular season and playoffs, the pair and the rest of the Maryland Terrapins closed out the season with a statement victory over fellow finalist University of Illinois, sweeping them in three straight wins. The Terrapins will continue their title quest in this week's League of Legends College Championship.
Of course, the ultimate key to the team's success is the synergy and advantage the twins held over every other player on the map, right?
Not quite.
"No," Ben said after their Big Ten title match last month, shaking his head and laughing at the notion while peering back at his brother.
Maybe it helps a little?
"No," the other brother deadpanned, obviously having been asked this question before. Do you and your twin share each other's thoughts? Do you know when your brother needs you to press a specific button on the keyboard? No, really, are you sure it's fair that you two are twins and get to be on the same team? You must have some sort of insane, unbreakable twin-ergy!
Nope.
"It also doesn't help that he's on one side of the map and I'm on the other," Ben said, pointing out that their positions, top and AD carry, almost never interact unless in team-fight situations.
"We've actually tried AD carry and support, but it didn't work out," Jason said.
The two play off each other well in an interview, looking back at one another, even sometimes one of them answering for both. In-game, while not in the same lane or often together on the map, the two complete Maryland's offense, the twins joining a trio of players who have been playing together since high school to create the Big Ten champion-winning side.
The series versus Illinois exemplified the team's cohesion with one another, not just the twins. Each of the games began the same: Illinois picked up first blood and got out to a small early-game lead. Where many amateur teams would have folded under the pressure of playing in the same studio many of their favorite pros in the LCS Arena, Maryland held the line, making smart maneuvers with teleportation and designed plays to erase the early deficits and regain the momentum of the game. Besides the final game that devolved into a messy base race situation that Maryland eventually navigated through, the final was a one-sided affair, the tactics and teamwork of the Terrapins outshining the Fighting Illini's laning prowess.
"At first, [our parents] weren't really that supportive of our whole video game thing, thinking it was a waste of time or something," Jason said. "Our dad especially didn't like us playing too many video games. But after we progressed more in high school and got into college, he was more supportive. When he found out we could get scholarship [money] from this he was more supportive."
While none of the players received money for winning the Big Ten championship, everyone who participated in the league was granted $5,000 in scholarship money. Each team was also allowed to have a coach and manager, with both receiving a $2,500 scholarship. The real prize for the players, outside of making their parents happy with a bit of scholarship money, was being able to travel to Los Angeles and coming to the LCS Arena, getting a taste of what the life of a professional could be like in the future if they make it that far.
After the team's victory, the five members of the team, their manager, and head coach went through a little of what professional teams go through daily. They stood in front of a Big Ten Network background, asked to stand in a line to take their pictures with their medals. They didn't know to stand in order of position, the players scurrying around to find the right order as a Riot Games photographer attempted to have them smile into the camera with their medals.
Laughing, smiling and shying away from the camera, these aren't pros, and that's why the college series for League of Legends is special. A few years ago, nothing like this could have ever happened, a group of five amateurs from a college banding together and working their way through a difficult schedule of likeminded teams to have the opportunity to have a taste of fame, no matter how alien it must feel to players who play the same as a hobby on the side of their majors.
As masters players, the twins might not be at a pro level, but they've had their encounters with some of NA LCS' brightest on the online ladder.
"I beat Doublelift in lane once!" Jason said. "I was pretty proud of that, but that might have been because of my support; bottom lane is really dependent on support."
"For me it was Bjergsen back when I used to play mid lane," Ben said. "I solo killed him once ... and he killed me right back, but I got him once and we eventually ended up winning the game."
Bjergsen and Doublelift, two of the biggest names in all of North American esports, didn't go to college like the twins. The current top prospect in the region, "Révenge," declined offers to play both in the North American Challenger Series and the North American LCS next season in favor of going to college, wanting to become a surgeon to support his family. There are numerous players in the LCS that either left high school early or graduated ahead of time to go pro, and many more who deferred college in favor of chasing the esports dream.
It's a decision that can change a person's life forever, either way.
"I think unless they're already talking to pros and scrimming with them, I think it's safer to go to college first," Ben said. "You can still play League in college, all of us do. Of course then you won't have as much time, but you can always drop college if you're good enough."
"If you're good enough to be on a [pro] team, then you should drop college at least for a year to just try it out," Jason interjected. "You're never going to get that experience again."
The collegiate scene in League of Legends for the twins, and many others, has simply given them something to do. A majority of the players in the finals are in STEM majors, and due to the strenuous workload, having a normal social life, or even participating in an extracurricular activity, is difficult. While the team doesn't practice like a pro team or have many chances to play against other schools, the club and the camaraderie between the seven members of the team, allow them to be kids and have fun in a time where most of their lives are ruled by test scores and outside pressure to succeed in their field.
The medals around their necks and the Big Ten logo inscribed into it, are more than just a reminder of their championship. It's a year of memories: playing together, working together and, at the end of it all, flying to Los Angeles, playing on the Big Ten network and streamed online for thousands to watch, sharing in a moment of victory when they don't have to think about an important test coming up on Friday or what internship they need to apply for next.
Maryland's win means its season will continue on. On Thursday, the College Series finals will take place in Los Angeles back at the LCS Arena, this time the top eight teams from across the region battling it out for supremacy and the title of best collegiate club in North America. The twins, accepted quickly by the three teammates who've played for years, will continue on, twin-ergy or not, working to show that it isn't the blood relatives who possess the perfect coordination -- it's all five of the Terrapins on Summoner's Rift.
"For our parents, I want to thank them," Jason said. "They've been really supportive of us playing, and they help by paying for school. To them, I just want to thank them."
Ben nodded, not needing to say a word.