While Illini Esports continues to dominate in collegiate League of Legends, not a lot of spotlight is thrown on the junior varsity players who are the next generation of players to play and represent Illini Esport’s varsity League of Legends team. One of these talented players is Sparsh “JustChilln” Singh, current freshman and the starting jungler for our junior varsity League of Legends team (also known as Illini Orange).
His journey with Illini Esports and competitive League of Legends started before entering UIUC as he played competitive League of Legends in high school on University Laboratory High School’s varsity League of Legends team. During his time playing on the Uni High team, he learned a lot from the coaching of previous League of Legends head coach Peter “Gino” Shyu and AJ “SyncShips” Taylor. AJ, when asked about his previous experience coaching with Sparsh, said “Sparsh had the highest skill cap compared to many players I have seen. His willingness to learn, take criticism, and adapt was a big thing. He just needed a push and motivation to do so. Finding a place and community in Illini Esports Orange is the biggest impact to have on him.” While his high school journey had many challenges, Sparsh ended up helping the team get top 8 in Esports Michigan with a 14-0 record during the regular split, a first place title in GGLeagues, and a second place finish in SixtySixGames tournament.
Sparsh was super motivated the summer after graduating from Uni High. After getting a taste of the competition and the desire for winning from the recent SixtySixGames tournament, he was hungry for more. So, Sparsh worked hard that summer, rewatching his gameplay and playing more solo queue League of Legends. He ended up hitting mid diamond by the end of summer and a second place finish on an ametuer team in the LastHitGods tournament with a huge upset over tournament favorites. He was listed as the series MVP because of his outstanding performance against the Challenger ranked jungler. He also participated in the UCLA Esports Summer Invitational and Best Coast Invitational 2020 with members of the Illini Blue and Illini Orange team.
Sparsh was picked up into the Illini Orange team last semester and has already impressed many due to his performance on the team. Over the 2021 season so far, Sparsh has climbed the solo queue ladder, hitting masters 50lp a month ago. He currently sits on a 65% win rate on Nunu over 150 games and rated a top 5 Nunu player in NA by LeagueOfGraphs and OP.GG (League of Legends websites that grade players based on their rank and statistics around their performance on that specific character). Just recently, Sparsh and the Illini Orange took a decisive victory over Johnson and Wales University in the UML (Upsurge Minor League) playoffs on March 8th. Sparsh ended up getting series MVP due to his outstanding jungle performance. Sparsh and the Illini Orange League of Legends team will be advancing in the playoffs, playing Team Aquila this upcoming Monday, March 15. Sparsh’s future is bright and we are excited to see what he will accomplish in his career here at Illini Esports!
