Collegiate esports goes international: UK vs USA Rocket League showmatch recap

British Esports Championships college team QMSamurais (Queen Mary’s College, UK) took on the USA’s Raiding Raptors from James Monroe Middle School (JMMS) in an explosive game of Rocket League.

Bryony-Hope Green provides a recap of the match.

This friendly ‘UK Vs USA’ match – which took place on November 3rd – was the first of its kind, in allowing educational institutions across the globe to come together and celebrate the rise of collegiate esports.

The stream was put together by JMMS alumni SIMP and P1GGY, who worked hard and put on a great show.

Overall, it was a very intense set of matches, across two series, where both teams battled it out. And while winning is great, this match was about more than just securing a victory.

It allowed students to gain experience,meet a variety of new people from around the globe and take part in a one-of-its-kind community activity. And they were clearly thrilled to be taking part.

For some students, it was the first time they had their gameplay commentated on.

The first series kicked off quite slow, but both teams soon adapted their strategies  to produce five action-packed games.

The QMSamurais ended up taking the first series with a 3-2 victory in what was described as “explosive” by the casters.

In the second series, JMMS made a comeback and ended up with a 1-3 win – with both teams putting up a solid fight.

After the match, all the players and coaches joined Discord to celebrate the friendly game as well as get to know each other.

All of the students agreed that the biggest highlight of the match was the amount of demolition play that really kept everyone on edge.

James Fraser-Murison, Director of Learning for Creative Arts and Esports BTEC teacher at QMC, said: “It was a great experience for my students to see the other side of esports. We are beyond grateful for the opportunity to play alongside some new friends on the other side of the pond.”

Dr Miles Harvey, coach for the JMMS team, expressed his gratitude to the Samurais for allowing this experience to happen,adding that “coach Fraser and I are just enjoying the very beginnings of this, and really wondering where it will go”.

JMMS’ Awuzie3772 said: “We haven’t been a team for too long, maybe 2 months, and I just started last season…honestly I think all of us did a great job.”

The QMSamurais’ Mazzo77 added: “Playing felt really good and is a really good thing to look back upon and talk about.”

With collegiate esports continuing to grow, international matches like this could be just the starting point. How will we see this evolve further in the future?

Looking at the British Esports Championships for schools and colleges, so far in the Winter Qualifiers, both QMSamurai teams are doing well, with the QMSamurai2s having three wins under their belt.

Tune into the Championship matches over on the British Esports Twitch channel every Wednesday at 4pm GMT and watch as schools and colleges battle across the country in Rocket League, League of Legends and Overwatch.

This Wednesday our Twitch channel will broadcast League of Legends matches – we hope to see you in the chat!

“It was a great experience for my students to see the other side of esports. We are beyond grateful for the opportunity to play alongside some new friends on the other side of the pond.”
James Fraser-Murison, Director of Learning for Creative Arts and Esports BTEC teacher, Queen Mary’s College

Click to see a highlight clip from the match:

Talent line-up

 

QMSamurais:

Series 1 team: Mazzo77, Hudsy5, Sw4tmonster7

Series 2 team: Funk E6276, Sepahe, Anjel

JMMS: Xx12Gregg12Xx, MintAceGamers. Awuzie3772

Casters: SIMP, P1GGY