British Esports Championships Team Profile: Confetti Arrows

With the British Esports Championships in full swing for schools and colleges, we will be profiling the different establishments and teams taking part.

First up is the Confetti Arrows Overwatch college team from the Confetti Institute of Creative Technologies in Nottingham. We speak to Arrows manager and ICT administrator Oliver Morley and games technology course tutor Kyle Cherry.

Please tell us about your team name and logo.

The Confetti Arrows hail from the Confetti Institute of Creative Technologies in Nottingham. Our team name and logo pay respect to the legendary outlaw Robin Hood, famed not only for being a brigand but also for his boldness, swiftness and accuracy – all the skills an Overwatch player needs.

Which games do you participate in?

We currently play only Overwatch, but with the outpouring of support from our student body and the technology we’ve put in place we’re sure we’ll be looking to field more teams in more games in future.

Who are the players in your team?

Our players come from Confetti’s Further Education courses in Games Technology and Games Art. Led by team captain and main-tank Jacob/TheNotSoPro, our starting lineup is off-tank Rian/Laxvier, DPS Emanuel/Wex and Kieran/Krazylol, and our supports Kaiden/Kali, James/TheGibbon and Josh/Trnsparntlmn. In addition to our starting line-up, we also have two subs Symon/Symxn and Calum/Clam, plus a pair of casters.

Tell us about your practicing methods.

Our team practices twice a week against scrim opponents arranged through an Overwatch practice server. We set a specific weakness, composition or strategy to practice each week, and record the practices to break down the gameplay afterwards. We have to balance practice with academic study, and we’ve ensured that coursework comes first.

What’s the most memorable or funniest moment in the team so far?

On King’s Row in our first match, we were nearly undone twice by a Pharah who snuck up on us. It was only the quick thinking of Kali as Lucio who took her down with one punch! Otherwise, it’s all big bombs, fat shatters and rallying cries of “Rein One!” Even when it’s serious it should still be fun, and you should always be ready to laugh at yourself.

What’s the hardest part about working as a team?

Learning to communicate with each other without losing focus. We’ve had to be flexible around our responsibilities and schedules, but we always pull it together in the end.

What are your general thoughts on the British Esports Championships?

The British Esports Championships have made this a really easy process for us to get to grips with and this is a fantastic opportunity for schools and FE colleges to offer extracurricular activities that build confidence, encourage working as a team and allow us to contribute in meaningful ways to the college atmosphere.

That sense of community has been great and our team come from three different cohorts which has given us a great opportunity to meet and learn more about each other.

What have you learnt from the Championships so far?

That esports isn’t just for dedicated gamers – there are lots opportunities to grow skills like communication, team work and technical skills such as video production, broadcasting and marketing just by taking part.

What are your aims in the Championships?

We aim to continue our undefeated streak to the end of season one and hopefully as far as Insomnia!

Is there anything else you’d like to add?

In the words of Rocky Balboa: “It’s not about how hard you hit, it’s about how hard you can get hit and keep on going.”

More info

Website: https://confetti.ac.uk/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/ArrowsConfetti