Gavin Drummond as LilLucio; A Rising Star Helps Shape a Rising Program
By Alex Wilson /@Alex_Wilson14
17-year-old Gavin Drummond chose the username LilLucio for a couple of reasons. The name was reminiscent of modern-day rappers such as a Lil Wayne. The name reminds him of how Lucio, a character in the game Overwatch, is a rather short DJ. The name, most importantly for Drummond, sounds good rolling off the tongue.
With this username in tow, Drummond racked up an impressive list of accolades since his immersion into Overwatch in 2016. Since then, Drummond has played for numerous teams and coached for 7. These teams sometimes even overlapped in duties having Drummond both coaching and playing at the same time. Each of these teams shows impressive accolades such as the top 10 within the North American Collegiate Program (Mizzou Esports, 2019), 3rd in the Open Division (Infamous, 2020), and several minor league standings along with Drummond being ranked among the top 500 Overwatch players within North America.
This analytical mindset, along with Drummond’s unquestionable talent, has put Drummond straight into the sights of Mizzou Esports where he now volunteers as an Assistant Coach for the varsity Overwatch team. Drummond has been excited about going to Mizzou since as far as he can remember. “I just really like Mizzou, there is nothing really else to it.” Said Drummond when asked about his decision to apply at the University of Missouri this next fall semester. His love for the school grew even more as John Green, also known as SpeakEasy, scouted LilLucio for a position within the Mizzou Esports rosters. “One day the head coach for Mizzou Overwatch reached out for me and to say ‘hey’ and he scouted me when I was a junior in high school, and after a couple of months I just started to come to every scrimmage,” said Drummond.
The difficulties of being a coach only came up one time in my interview with Drummond. “The biggest challenge would be time management. Which, even then, I haven’t thought of as a big problem because I do work in the Minor Leagues. I’ve done professional Overwatch since the start of 8th grade.”
The journey certainly isn’t over for Drummond as he transitions out of his senior year after the next semester. Three months ago Drummond and his family moved down from Chicago to Missouri so that Drummond could attend Columbia’s Rockbridge High School and work in close quarters with the team. This allows Drummond an even better experience with the team, one that he says was already quite pleasant. “No one at Mizzou really saw me for my age and wrote me off, which I’m really really grateful for.”
Being a collegiate coach, of any capacity, at such a young age is unique in that it comes with a set amount of dedication. Being a professional within the minor leagues of Overwatch also requires a unique set of dedication. Despite that dedication, Drummond has found time to explore his own hobbies and passions alongside his desire for a greater education. “I cook, I love to cook.” said Drummond, “I cook every night for me and my dad, and not just a pack of Mac & Cheese, but real gourmet meals.” During my interview Drummond also spoke about the love for fishing he had as a child. “I loved fishing as a kid and I will probably do something in Marine Biology at Mizzou. Recently I’ve gotten into art and a little bit of golf, but those don’t really count as hobbies yet.”
When asked for any closing remarked he jokingly replied “I would like to ask that anyone interested in watching me coach and play follow me on Twitter.” Follow LilLucio and the rest of the Overwatch Esports team at https://www.twitch.tv/mizzouesports. The Mizzou Esports twitch hosts a variety of content including League of Legends, Rocket League, Overwatch, and a Sunday Funday stream hosted by Mizzou student Tyler Malone.