British Esports Championships return with weekly Twitch broadcasts and new platform for 2020/21

Dominic Sacco

4 min read | 1 Sep 2020

The British Esports Association, the not-for-profit organisation set up to promote and support grassroots esports, will be broadcasting student esports matches every week going forward.

The 2020/21 British Esports Championships are a series of competitive gaming tournaments for students aged 12+ in schools and colleges across the UK. A brand new platform has been created, making it easier for teams to log in, view the latest standings, top plays and more.

Sign-ups opened on September 1st 2020 and closed on September 25th 2020. Registration must be made by a member of staff, for example a teacher.

Matches will be aired live on Twitch.tv/britishesports every Wednesday from October 7th at 4pm BST. Broadcasts will alternate, so one week League of Legends matches will be shown, then Overwatch another week, and Rocket League the next.

Due to the large number of matches taking place every week from hundreds of school and college teams, British Esports will select a handful of matches to show on Twitch each week, and will ensure each team gets featured on stream throughout the course of the season.

There will be a second smaller registration period in December, but teams registering then will automatically be placed into division 2 for the spring term, due to not taking part in qualification.

Previously, the British Esports Championships consisted of two individual seasons: winter and spring. For 2020/21, there will be one year-long long season, consisting of qualifiers – and skill-based divisions. This change has been made to increase competitiveness, up the cap in teams and allow more schools and colleges to participate.

The Championships are PC-based and include the following games: 

• 5v5 League of Legends: multiplayer online battle arena game (PEGI 12 age rating)
• 6v6 Overwatch: a vibrant first-person shooter (PEGI 12)
• 3v3 Rocket League: football with rocket-powered cars (PEGI 3)

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The British Esports Championships are supported by Twitch Student and AoC Sport, the lead organisation for college sport and activities.

Due to the ongoing situation around COVID-19, teams will be allowed to play from home. British Esports will be closely monitoring the situation and may announce other changes to the Championships in due course. The safety of its participants is paramount.

Throughout September, British Esports will also be hosting open Q&A sessions online to help teachers, parents and students learn more about the Championships and get involved.

Elliot Bond, British Esports Association school and college liaison officer, commented: “This year we’ve been working really hard on ensuring the 2020/21 Championships are the best yet.

“We’ve already announced that the student tournaments will feature divisions for the first time, allowing more teams to take part and to match them at a similar skill level. Now we’ve brought together a fantastic volunteer team to help us run weekly broadcasts showcasing matches from the Championships.

“We can’t wait to see how the season goes and hope you’ll join us in supporting some of the best school and college esports teams across the country.”

The 2019/20 Championships winners were Sunderland College (Overwatch and Rocket League) and Hills Road Sixth Form College (League of Legends).

You can sign up to participate in the British Esports Championships in the future here