November 17, 2025

MADISON, S.D. - The Dakota State University Trojan League of Legends took third place in the CCL Championships, holding off South Dakota Mines 2-1.

Game 1:
DSU Draft:
• Top: Camille (Brock Zirpel)
• Jungle: Wukong (Christian Lor)
• Mid: Galio (Connor Ford)
• Bot: Kog'Maw (Micah McRunnel)
• Support: Nami (Brooks Jansen)

SDM Draft:
• Top: Mordekaiser
• Jungle: Zyra
• Mid: Garen
• Bot: Darius
• Support: Nautilus

Game Summary
SDM struck first in Game 1, building a lead early, but DSU fought back with several key plays to stay in the game.
1:30 — SDM dives the tower, trading their support to secure the first kill on Micah (Kog'Maw). First Blood goes to SDM.
3:00 — SDM ganks mid and kills Connor (Galio), pushing their early lead.
6:20 — A 2v2 breaks out in the bot lane. Micah falls early, and despite Brooks (Nami) efforts, both DSU bot lane players end up under 30% HP falling to SDM's Bot Laner.
8:30 — SDM looks to take control of the map, securing Void Grubs to start building their gold lead.
10:15 — SDM dives Connor (Galio) in mid lane after taking the drake, but Connor turns the dive and takes down SDM's mid laner in response.
12:19 — Christian (Wukong) arrives just in time to save Micah (Kog'Maw) in a team fight in bot lane.
12:25 — SDM dives Connor (Galio) in mid again, but this time Connor turns it around, taking down SDM's mid laner.
14:35 — SDM pushes their advantage, starting fights in both the top and bot lanes. They secure 3 kills in these fights.
16:00 — SDM takes another drake, but DSU answers by taking down SDM's top laner. A huge team fight breaks out, resulting in a 3-for-3 trade.
18:30 — SDM secures the Rift Herald, but DSU responds by killing SDM's mid laner, narrowing the gold gap.
24:00 — SDM starts the Akshan fight, leading to a massive team fight. DSU wins the fight with a 2-for-1 trade and earns an objective bounty.
26:00 — SDM looks to siege, and while DSU falls in the fight, they take down two SDM players in return, keeping the game alive, but losing the Hextech Soul.
28:40 — Brooks (Nami) lands a massive ultimate, hitting four SDM players and saving Micah (Kog'Maw), but DSU loses the Baron shortly after.
31:10 — DSU is forced back to their base barely managing to take down SDM's bot laner in the process.
33:30 — In the end DSU falls in a final team fight, allowing SDM to close out the game and win Game 1, putting the series at a 0-1 deficit for DSU.

Game 2:
DSU Draft:
• Top: Aatrox (Brock)
• Jungle: Volibear (Christian)
• Mid: Aurelion Sol (Connor)
• Bot: Tristana (Micah)
• Support: Poppy (Brooks)

SDM Draft:
• Top: Briar
• Jungle: Udyr
• Mid: Zoey
• Bot: Smoulder
• Support: Neeko

Game Summary
DSU bounced back in Game 2, dominating several fights and securing objectives to tie up the series at 1-1.
3:50 — First Blood goes to SDM as Brock (Aatrox) falls to an early gank.
4:20 — A successful counter-gank from Christian (Volibear) and Connor (Aurelion Sol) results in a kill on SDM's support. The kill credit goes to Micah (Tristana).
7:00 — A 2v2 breaks out in bot lane, ending in a 1-for-1 trade of each team's support.
8:30 — Brooks (Poppy) feeds a kill to Micah (Tristana) by isolating SDM's bot laner.
11:15 — Brock (Aatrox) gets ganked but turns the 2v1 around, securing a kill on SDM's top laner, giving DSU a 500 gold lead.
12:40 — Both teams position for the first drake, however, DSU is forced to back out, giving SDM control of the objective.
14:00 — DSU dives bot lane, trading Brooks (Poppy) for the kill on SDM's bot laner.
15:20 — Christian (Volibear) takes advantage of a kill from Micah (Tristana) in bot lane, pressuring the map and securing a second kill on SDM's support.
17:40 — A long teamfight breaks out in bot lane resulting in a 4-for-2 trade in DSU's favor, giving them a 1k gold lead over SDM.
21:30 — DSU catches out a member of SDM and moves straight to Atakhan, securing the objective along with their first drake. The gold lead is now 5k in favor of DSU.
24:00 — DSU secures their third drake, putting them one point away from claiming Chemtech Soul.
27:00 — SDM initiates a chaotic fight in the top side river, resulting in 7 players dying—3 from SDM and 4 from DSU.
28:52 — Micah (Tristana) gets a triple kill, with a fourth SDM member falls to Christian (Volibear). DSU claims the Chemtech Soul.
29:30 — DSU transitions from the drake to Baron, shredding the objective before SDM can react.
31:50 — Brock (Aatrox) creates a distraction, allowing DSU to siege and put significant pressure on SDM's base. The gold advantage stretches to 7k.
34:10 — SDM initiates with a huge 4-man ultimate on DSU, but DSU counters with a double kill from Brock (Aatrox), wiping SDM in the process. This gives DSU the window to push for the win and secure Game 2, tying the series 1-1.

Game 3:
DSU Draft:
• Top: Ornn (Brock)
• Jungle: Pantheon (Christian)
• Mid: Cassiopeia (Connor)
• Bot: Corki (Micah)
• Support: Maokai (Brooks)
SDM Draft:
• Top: Ambessa
• Jungle: Graves
• Mid: Xerath
• Bot: Yone
• Support: Malphite

Game Summary
3:00 — First Blood goes to Micah (Corki) as SDM's support falls early.
4:50 — DSU counter-engages in the bot lane, securing 2 kills for Brooks (Maokai) and gaining an early advantage.
8:40 — DSU secures the first drake (Ocean), continuing their momentum.
9:00 — Brock (Ornn) gets ganked, but DSU responds by killing SDM's mid laner and positioning for the Void Grubs.
9:50 — SDM responds to the Void Grub pull, managing to kill three DSU players and secure the Void Grubs.
11:20 — Micah (Corki) takes down SDM's bot laner in a 1v1, extending DSU's lead.
14:00 — Christian (Pantheon) picks off SDM's mid laner, starting a team fight where he picks up a triple kill and secures the second drake for DSU.
20:20 — DSU looks to initiate a fight, but it turns into a 3-2 trade in SDM's favor, allowing SDM to secure their first drake.
22:15 — DSU tries to secure Atakhan but is hit by a massive Malphite ultimate from SDM, resulting in a 0-4 trade and giving SDSMT Atakhan.
26:50 — DSU pulls Baron, but SDM engages. DSU turns the fight around, killing two SDM players. They drop the Baron but secure their third drake.
28:00 — SDM sneaks Baron, but DSU arrives in time to turn the fight into a 4-3 trade in their favor, securing Baron for themselves.
32:40 — A team fight breaks out, resulting in a 2-3 trade in DSU's favor, allowing them to claim their fourth drake and the Soul.
34:00 — A fight breaks out for Baron, and Micah (Corki) secures a triple kill while Brock (Ornn) picks up a double kill. DSU secures Baron.
36:10 — SDSMT picks off Micah (Corki), trading three players for five, and taking away the Baron buff from DSU.
38:50 — DSU takes down two SDM players, then retreats to secure the Elder Dragon.
41:00 — SDM engages with an ultimate to stop DSU's siege, but two players fall, allowing DSU to walk in and finish out the game. In the final team fight, Christian (Pantheon) and Micah (Corki) each take down two players, with Brock (Ornn) securing the last kill, ending the game and the series in DSU's favor, 2-1.

With that series, your Trojan League of Legends are your bronze finishers in the Fall 2025 CCL Season. After a hard-fought battle, the Trojans showed incredible resilience, bouncing back from a tough game 1 aiming to secure the series in game 3 victory. Strong performances from players like Brock and Micah, combined with precise team fights and smart objective play, helped the Trojans claim third place after being beaten by the back-to-back CCL League of Legends Champions, North Dakota State University, the day prior. Their consistency and determination throughout the series earned them a well-deserved spot on the podium for one of the teams' final seasons together.