By Guilherme Name

The annual Border Clash between Mizzou and KU’s esports programs took place on the first weekend of February. The Tigers defended the title and walked away from the event with a 4-1 scoreline.

The event put the historical rivals face to face in 5 titles. Rocket League, Valorant, and League of Legends were played on Saturday, Feb. 3; while Super Smash Bros and Overwatch 2 were played on Sunday, Feb. 4, followed by the prize ceremony. The event was held in-person at the Mizzou Gaming Lounge, and between the live audience and the twitch stream, the event was considered a success.

KU started the event by grabbing the win in Rocket League 4-2, but that would be their only win of the tournament. Mizzou Valorant, currently ranked #9, tied the event score after a dominant performance, winning 2-0 on Bind and Lotus. League of Legends wrapped up the first day, but despite the Tigers also winning the series 2-0, it was arguably the most disputed. The Tigers, having lost to the Jayhawks on the NACE Starleague last semester, were up to a rough start, but were able to turn the tide and put the Tigers on the overall lead at the end of the day.

Sunday started with Super Smash Bros, which also promised to be a close match, but the Tigers relied on astonishing performances by Shaym “shaydo” Punnachalil and Joey “Jplane” Lane to secure them the win. The stellar performance by the Tigers was crowned by a flawless victory in Overwatch, and the event finished with a 4-1 scoreline in favor of Mizzou.

Other attractions included giveaways for t-shirts, a Mizzou Esports jersey, and a Corsair headset. A side tournament for AimLabs took place between matches, with the winner, Grant “GalactiCow” Clemmons, winning an MSI Keyboard as the prize.

By winning the event, Mizzou secured the belt for what has become a yearly tradition. The first Border Clash took place in Feb. 2023, so when current Mizzou Esports Coordinator, Colin Graham, arrived in August, it had already happened. But, as he recalls, it had a different format and, more so, a different focus.

“It happened in conjunction with the grand opening of the gaming lounge,” Graham said. “So this year, the main shift was to make the main thing be Border Clash. My big push was to bring KU here, have them on campus, have everything in person as last year was fully remote.”

Both Colin and Danny O’Connel, KU’s Esports Coordinator, sit on the competition council and communicate on a weekly basis. According to Graham, this facilitated the whole process, with Kansas also being very proactive and interested in making this an in-person event. 

But Graham also noted that they expected more people on the Twitch stream than at the gaming lounge. He worked intensely with the Mizzou Esports broadcast leads to make it run as smoothly as possible, and according to him, it was a success.

“From an outside point of view, everyone that saw the event through the stream and the production we put forward were impressed,” Graham said. “And so, I would call [the event] successful. Our stream numbers, being able to bring Kansas here and coordinate the way that we did was successful.”

Graham cited good feedback he received from Tyler Page, director of Residential Life of the University of Missouri; a handful of Mizzou Premier players who participated in the event; as well as other universities like Missouri Western State, and Kansas themselves.

The new format promises to make the Border Clash a yearly tradition similar to home-and-home sports events. The plan is for Kansas to host the next edition, Mizzou to host it in 2026, and so on. A new traveling trophy was introduced this year, so each Border Clash will have both teams fighting to conquer, or secure it.

That trophy was designed to be engraved each year with the winner and overall score for each Border Clash. Currently, two engravings indicate Mizzou’s back-to-back 4-1 wins. According to Graham, it helps foment the rivalry, which is a great way to generate interest for the event.

“My belief is that having a traditional rivalry like this is great not only for currently involved students, but also for those not into esports,” said Graham. “It allows administrators, faculty, staff, the general Mizzou fans, to understand the importance behind this event and tune in, or be involved with it.”