UK universities host esports varsities

Earlier this month Staffordshire University and Keele University brought their rivalry to the esports stage.

six titles were played on May 7th including Rainbow Six Siege, Rocket League, Overwatch, CSGO, League of Legends and Smash Bros 4.

They also ran multiple side events including a free Halo 4 tournament and a free to play area with many setups available for the public.

Although Keele University won this year’s event, Staffordshire Universities have already shown interest in this becoming an annual event. The organisers are aiming to branch out to showcase more talent from local areas.

The event was open to the public which helped people to learn about esports for the first time. It was also streamed live on Twitch.

Elsewhere, the Roses event between York and Lancaster included a DOTA, CSGO and League of Legends event.

The Roses varsity is a yearly tradition where York and Lancaster universities compete against each other in many different sports.

It takes its name from the 15th Century civil war, The Wars of the Roses, between the House of Lancaster and the House of York. The competition is held every summer, alternating its venue between the two universities.

This year they had three esports events: League of Legends, Dota and CSGO.

The esports events were received favourably, having increased the number of games from last year. The events were broadcast live on LA1 TV. Recordings of the entire Roses event are available on the website.

York won all three esports events and also the Roses 2017 trophy. Lancaster will host the next event in summer 2018 and will be announcing its event line-up closer to the date.