Winners of inaugural International Defence Esports Games announced as nations gather at new British Arena

The winning teams at the inaugural International Defence Esports Games (IDEG) finals have been announced at Sunderland’s brand new British Arena – here’s what happened at the event.

150 serving Armed Forces esports athletes competed in Sunderland from October 8 to 11 2026.

58 countries applied to participate in the first IDEG, with ten nations qualifying: Canada, France, Japan, the Netherlands, Romania, Saudi Arabia, Slovakia, Sri Lanka, the United Kingdom and the United States. The event has been set up to focus on international competition, skills, teamwork and cooperation between participating nations.

There were tournaments in four titles – Counter-Strike 2, Rocket League, iRacing and VelociDrone – with the live finals taking place at the state-of-the-art British Arena. With this located opposite Sunderland AFC’s Stadium of Light, there was plenty of buzz in the area as football fans walked by and had a look at the new arena for the first time.

The UK collected a trio of trophies as Canada won in Counter-Strike 2.

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MP, British Esports & leaders open proceedings at Skills Workshop and welcome party

British Esports Senior VP Dave Martin and Chair Andy Payne OBE spoke at the Skills and Careers Workshop and welcome event on Thursday October 8, which included conference panels on skills, jobs and future career opportunities.

Andy Payne said: “When we founded British Esports 10 years ago, we had a very simple vision. It’s that esports matters – it really matters. Not simply because millions of people enjoy playing games. But because behind the games, people and skills, are possibilities.

“Esports is about much more than the competition. It’s about people. It’s about skills. It’s about technology. As I think most important is that international collaboration.

“I’m very proud that the first IDEG event is happening here today in Sunderland at the British Arena. We’ve got to create opportunity. Educational opportunity, employment opportunity, investment opportunities… this country needs investment, it needs inspiration.

“So welcome to Sunderland. Welcome to the International Defence Esports Games. And let’s show the world what happens, when gaming, technology and talent come together. Thank you.”

British Esports Chair Andy Payne OBE and Lewis Atkinson MP were amongst those who opened proceedings

In the evening, the esports teams gathered for the full opening ceremony and welcome party, with opening speeches from British Esports President Chester King, Lieutenant General (Retd) Sir Tom Copinger-Symes KCB CBE, President, UK Armed Forces Esports, Co-Founder and Chair International Defence Esports Games and General Dame Sharon Nesmith DCB ADC, as well as Lewis Atkinson MP and Cllr Chris Eynon, Leader of Sunderland City Council.

Lewis Atkinson MP revealed he used to captain a Team Fortress clan called MI6.

“As a 16-year-old, I had a dial up internet, and it was very exciting when we got a 56k dial up,” he said. “I wasn’t very good [at Team Fortress], I have to say, and I used to blame the quality of the internet connection for not being very good! I didn’t know it at the time, but that gaming taught me in terms of working with people that I’d never met in person, in terms of teamwork and the competitive spirit. And now it’s fantastic to welcome people from around the globe to Sunderland.”

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GB sweep USA 4-0 in inaugural IDEG26 Rocket League final

Great Britain put in a dominant performance to win the Rocket League tournament at IDEG26.

They beat the Netherlands 3-0 in the first semi-final, before stomping Team USA 4-0 in the grand final.

In other other semi-final, Team USA defeated Canada 3-1.

Daniel ‘Bluey’ Bluett, Team GB player, Signaller in the 47th Regiment Royal Artillery, and former pro Rocket League player, told us after the victory: “We were expecting Canada to be in the final, but the USA upset them in the semi-final. We had a good time in the final, we clean sweeped it but they put up a fight, they turned up and I hope to see them again next year.”

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A Great British success story: AS1 Kieran Oldham wins VelociDrone final following RAF Astra support

AS1 Kieran Oldham from the RAF regiment II Squadron won the VelociDrone finals for Great Britain with an impressive performance.

He piloted his virtual drone around the course faster than his competitors from Japan, USA, Canada and Saudi Arabia to lift the IDEG26 trophy.

Kieran was taught by Chief Technician Fassler, who approached the RAF Astra grassroots innovation programme a few years ago, requesting support for drone racing to help understand operational uses and fly drones. And the result is a high end drone racer who has just beat the competition representing Great Britain.

“It’s been amazing,” Kieran Oldham told us after the match. “This venue is absolutely like no other. I’ve never seen anything like it. It is insane to be a part of it and to meet everyone from all different countries, it’s absolutely brilliant. And learning skills from them as well, learning from them and combining all our skills together, creates an immense race.”

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Canada conquers in Counter-Strike 2

Team Canada (pictured, top) won the inaugural IDEG 2026 Counter-Strike 2 tournament after defeating Team France in the final.

They took a 2-1 victory in the grand final on October 10 after flying through the tournament with confidence and togetherness.

It could’ve been a different story, as Team Great Britain came close to defeating Canada in the semi-final.

Team Slovakia also reached the semi-finals, with Team USA, Saudi Arabia, Romania and Japan also making it to the quarter finals.

Team Canada’s Maj Johnny ‘Cancel’ Sheinfeld said: “I’m so happy we won and we gave the crowd a good match. I couldn’t be more proud of our guys, I see how much it means to them, we see some tears of joy and honestly it’s a pleasure to be here.

“[Addressing the crowd] Hearing you Brits over there, you guys kept us going!”

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Will Foulkes wins iRacing final for Great Britain as racers show unity

GB sim racer Will Foulkes, who works in RAF logistics as a driver, took the top podium spot in the IDEG26 iRacing final.

He stormed ahead of the competition – Patrick Beaudoin of Canada, Perry Duncan of USA, A. Alshehri of Saudi Arabia and T. Yokoyama of Japan.

The iRacing tournament also provided a strong example of the togetherness of IDEG. The UK’s Will Foulkes helped coach Japanese racer T. Yokohama ahead of the final, using Google Translate to talk to one another. Yokohama is quite new to iRacing and greatly appreciated the help. As a token of appreciation, the Japanese team gave Foulkes a gift to say thank you.

GB winner Will Foulkes told us after his win: “What a weekend! It’s been great working with the different countries in iRacing. And what a venue as well, the British Arena facilities are top class and it’s been an absolute pleasure.

“It was brilliant working with Taku from Japan too and all the racers, Taku has only been on iRacing for a couple of months and had a lot of questions. We used Google Translate and I helped as much as possible so the racing could be a bit closer – and it worked.”

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Partners back IDEG26

IDEG26 is supported by the British Esports Federation and the UK Ministry of Defence, which announced its partnership with IDEG last year. Founding partners are Babcock International, BAE Systems, Bizzell, Dell Technologies, DXC, Lockheed Martin, M&C Saatchi World Services and Sunderland City Council.

Joel Lavery, VP of Strategic Partnerships at British Esports, said: “It was a privilege to work alongside so many amazing corporate partners and thought leaders to deliver the inaugural IDEG 26.

“Not only did we experience some brilliant esports action in the amazing new British Arena, we were able to use the convening power of esports to bring people together and have some great discussions about how we can leverage esports and IDEG for the future.

“What an incredible week and partners are already planning bigger and better in 2027.”

You can read more about the IDEG26 partners and hear from them here.

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Summit at Sunderland City Hall

On Friday October 9, Sunderland City Hall played host the Esports and the Future Cyber, Drone and AI Defence Workforce Summit, bringing together defence leaders, policy experts and industry representatives.

The Summit examined the skills needed for the future defence workforce, with discussions covering cyber and digital skills, AI-enabled decision-making, strategy games, drones and remote operations.

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Cadets Experience at the British ARena

The Army Cadet Force, Sea Cadets, Royal Marine Cadets and Air Training Corp from across Durham gathered at the British Arena on October 9 2026.

They were invited by the Rifles regiment of the British Army to see a display of military equipment, speak with serving soldiers about their experiences and met Lieutenant General (Retd) Sir Tom Copinger-Symes KCB CBE, President, UK Armed Forces Esports, Co-Founder and Chair International Defence Esports Games, who spoke to them on the main stage and one-to-one.

Captain Dave Ridley of 8 Rifles was also in attendance.

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Media coverage of IDEG26

A range of media covered the inaugural International Defence Esports Games, including Sky News and the Sunderland Echo.

Katy Wheeler wrote for the Echo here: Inside Sunderland’s state-of-the-art new British Arena hosting everything from Esports to comedy

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You can check out Sky’s 2-minute video segment here: Meet the military gamers going head to head with NATO allies

Fergus Hay, Director of the Defence and Security Forum, told Sky News: “The inaugural event is a really fascinating way of reacting to modern cyber warfare. It’s identifying elite level gamers – the overlap between cyber and gaming is 100%. IDEG has created an environment for competitive military personnel to showcase their gaming abilities and identify their potential.”

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For more info and to register interest in IDEG27 visit www.ideg.gg; you can also enquire about the British Arena here

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