British Esports Championships Spring 2019 school winners confirmed

We have our school grand finals winners in League of Legends, Overwatch and Rocket League! School esports teams gathered at Insomnia Gaming Festival at the Birmingham NEC to face-off for a shot at glory – here’s how it went down

 

League of Legends

The first game between Beyond Reality (Cardinal Vaughan Memorial School) and AGSB Esports (Altrincham Grammar School for Boys) was arguably the closest game in all of the British Esports Championships grand finals.

Things were tense and quiet in the first ten minutes or so, then as we entered the mid-game things hotted up with team fights and objectives being taken across the map.

At 40 minutes, both teams had 18 kills and around 65k gold each, with AGSB Esports taking the baron and Beyond Reality securing the elder drake at the same time. AGSB pushed into Beyond Reality’s base, but after winning a team fight, it was the latter who managed to storm AGSB’s nexus and win an extremely close game that could have gone either way.

In game two, Beyond Reality got off on the right foot, and with Garen causing them trouble in the top-lane and split pushing, they were eventually able to win the game – and the match.

Casters Chronicler and GreyHart awarded Beyond Reality top-laner Jay Park the MVP (most valuable player) thanks to his unstoppable Shen in game one and frightening ignite/tri force Garen in game two.

Stage host Stu ‘Abominable’ Kennedy asked the teams for their views after the match.

AGSB jungler Yaser ‘tko survivor’ – who put in a great performance as Jarvan IV – said: “We didn’t want to play with any regrets or worry about it, but to just go for it. It didn’t work out in the end but we had a couple of good games I think.”

Beyond Reality mid-laner Alessio ‘Old and Retired’ D’Andrea added: “We prepared for a long battle. The whole point of our team comp was to go late game and as we entered in carrying Jakub ‘SirKemzo’ Kobrzynski, he normally does well every now and then, but we know we have to sacrifice us carrying every now and then. If it wasn’t for Jakub, we wouldn’t be here, so thank you Jakub.”

AGSB Head of Year 12 Rob Cummins commented: “Just wanted to say that AGSB are really proud of our lads reaching the first ever British Esports LoL final and they performed magnificently. We were beaten by a better team on the day but the lads had an awesome time and what an experience to perform on the stage. Their teamwork and communication really improved over the course of the tournament and they had a great time taking part.”

Check out the VoD at https://www.twitch.tv/belongarenas

 

WINNERS: Beyond Reality

Left to right: Jordan ‘ADMG Loco’ Alcantara – support, Jakub ‘SirKemzo’ Kobrzynski – adc, Alessio ‘Old and Retired’ D’Andrea – mid, Miguel ‘Migsayyy’ Nocum – jungle, Morgan ‘ADMG Jay Park’ Alcantara – top, Craig Spence-Hill – teacher of computer science

 

RUNNERS UP: AGSB Esports

AGSB Esports (left to right): Salman ‘Hex15’ – support, Leo ‘krdcd123’ Chiu – adc, Theo ‘teedoggy’ Johnson – mid, Yaser ‘tko survivor’ – jungle, Wesley ‘Deshkey’ Choi – top, Rob Cummins – head of year 12

Overwatch

This final saw Season 1 winners The Brights from Ysgol John Bright going up against Season 2 winners KES Esports (aka the Scorpions) from King Edward VI School, Stratford-upon-Avon.

KES started off well, picking up the first game. Their team fighting, positioning and communication was on point today, allowing them to pick up more games.

The Brights certainly didn’t make it easy for KES, and won a few rounds here and there, but it was KES who were eventual winners, defeating The Brights 4-0 overall.

KES team manager and captain, Patrick ‘Nox’ Marosan, told the British Esports Association after the match: “Winning the Grand Finals was really the highlight of our experience throughout the Champs, especially being able to play at a venue like Insomnia. However, this journey was not without effort and determination, as the group stages for Season 1 was a new experience for us, and it took significant dedication to see it through to an ultimately rewarding second season.

“Preparation for the Finals was difficult, and we had to overcome some communications issues, improve our teamwork and come up with new strategies since we had previously lost to The Brights 4-0 in Season 1. This past involvement with them meant the finals were pretty high stakes, and we were unsure of our performance from the get-go. Despite this, we kept our cool and came out victorious.”

On taking part in the Championships in general, Nox added: “Being able to take part in the first 2 seasons of this tournament was an incredible experience, not just for me, but for everyone involved. As the team’s manager and captain, it was great seeing that the Champs allowed our esports team to grow from a small group of 4 to a total of 14 players, 7 technical crew members and nearly 60 wonderful supporters who contributed to the running of social media, livestreams and team organisation overall.

“This has allowed people from all age groups within the school to work together on something they are passionate about, and it has given many people valuable experience in a range of fields within the esports industry, as well as improving their public speaking skills and confidence. The support from our teachers has also been great, especially with such a new and uncertain activity.”

 

WINNERS: KES Esports/Scorpions

Left to right: Callum ‘CalMcW’ McWhirter, Sam ‘Moony’ Moon, Ben ‘ThatCrazeeGuy’ Beard, Sam ‘Samb2k’ Baugh, Ed ‘ayday’ Collins, Reuben ‘Big Spanish’ Alexander, Patrick ‘Nox’ Marosan

 

RUNNERS UP: The Brights

Left to right: Adam ‘roadhog’ Edwards, Edward ‘dubdub’ Lunt, Rhys ‘scragzz’ Scargill – glasses, Ryan ‘Swanney’ Parker, Joshua ‘Bumble’ Lewis, Luke ‘the chattiest’ Jones, Brandon ‘neputo’ Rawlinson 

Rocket League

Season 1 winners Fortes Esports from Carmel College (school and sixth form college) went up against Season 2 winners Team EP from Easthampstead Park Community School in this best-of-seven Rocket League series.

Fortes established an early lead, taking two games to EP’s one.

It was a hard fought final, much like the Rocket League colleges Rocket League final, and the scoreline ended up the same: 4-1. It was Fortes who secured the victory and claimed themselves British Esports Championships Spring 2019 winners.

But like all of our runners-up this weekend, Team EP should be proud of their performance in the final and their matches throughout the term.

Fortes Esports told the British Esports Association: “It was brilliant to be involved with this and we want to do it again!”

 

WINNERS: Fortes Esports

Left to right: Carter ‘Cure’ Atkinson, James ‘Jamezg07’ Garbutt, Piotr ‘MaGiK’ Krawiec

 

RUNNERS UP: Team EP

Left to right: Jack ‘amthype’ Ward, Ali ‘ninjamarkali’ Rana, Kai ‘xultrasmasherx’ Smith

 

Congratulations to all of our winners, runners-up and participants in the British Esports Championships. We’ll have more news on the next seasons soon!