Among the several different teams the Barton College Esports team has, the League of Legends team is a focal point of the program. This team is led by first year Barton student and team captain, Ian D’meza. D’meza is currently a Junior after transferring from Penn State University where he spent two years prior. Hailing from the sunny beaches of Miami, Florida, the bilingual latin decent was a graduate of Pines Charter High School in 2014, where he participated on the high school lacrosse team.
Since coming to Wilson in the fall of 2020, D’meza has enjoyed the close knit community that is Barton College. “I like the interactivity that there seems to be between professors and students. It seems like the professors have the time for you. You just do not feel like another number or grade,” said D’meza. He not only noticed this, but also the culture shift from Miami to Wilson. “Miami is so different from cultures, foods, and just how people act. Everyone in North Carolina just seems nice and interactive.” said D’meza.
With the League of Legends team consisting of a lot of young talent, D’meza will be relied upon to take lead in strategy and competition roles. “Ian has really helped take our League of Legends team to the next level. He’s been a great asset to our team.” said Head Esports Coach Paul Christianson, “He has a great deal of expertise in the game and helps lead our game strategy.”
D’meza has always been attracted to video games. He remembers growing up on Pokemon for the Gameboy Color and Kingdom of Hearts on the Playstation 2. “My father enjoyed games and they always seemed to call to me the idea of having an escape from reality into a world all your own was appealing and provided a sense of magic/fantasy which is always a big thing for kids.” said D’meza.
He was introduced to League of Legends back at Penn State when his roommates showed him the game. He had never played the MOBA (Multiplayer Online Battle Arena), however, he quickly learned the strategies of the five on five arena game. ” There is so much replay ability because there is strategy, different players, every game is different.” said D’meza. His attraction and dedication to the game has been on display before. Prior to last season, D’meza, peaked on the rankings of the game at top 5% in North America.
As for the 2021 spring season, D’meza believes they have what it takes to compete at a high level. “We are a young team, however, as a team I feel that we are growing.” said D’meza. “Since the first semester we’ve developed a different method of playstyle which we hope to strengthen our team as a whole and allow us to perform.” said D’meza. Overall, he still believes that they will need to work on communication and strategies moving forward.
Since arriving to Barton, D’meza has enjoyed meeting and getting to know new people. “Barton shows a lot of promise for me. So I can’t wait to do more stuff here.” said D’meza.