Images courtesy of Abbie Salkeld
So many sports have had to make alterations this year to ensure a safe Roses but one sport that has come into its own is Esports. Fielding an impressive team of 27 players over the course of the weekend, Lancaster certainly delivered an exceptional performance.
Before I dive into the results, I will give you a short summary of what takes place in Esports, as I must admit I didn’t know myself until this weekend. Esports is competitive gaming designed to test teamwork and strategy. There were six main matches played during Roses, as well as a number of show matches set up for fun. In each of the games, teams took it in turn to attack and defend over a cycle of different maps testing each other’s skills.
When I tuned in to the final Esports overwatch match on Sunday, the Lancaster team was already in a good position having won all five previous matches. Despite the challenge of the mostly new Breeze map, both Lancaster and York gave an impressive fight. The first round was won by Lancaster who initiated the game as defenders and came out on top. For the following round, the roles reversed placing Lancaster in the attacking role and resulting in a draw as York put up an impressive defence. However, the defence couldn’t last, and as tensions and adrenaline rose Lancaster took the final two games by storm. As a result of this, Lancaster was awarded a clean sweep across the board, winning all six games in the main tournament, despite a resilient response from York.
Speaking to the president of Lancaster’s gaming and Esports society, Dylan Couperthwaite, he commented on the amazing job York University did in arranging everything from the graphics on screen to getting all the streams up and running. While the society has the benefit of lending itself to the online format, the tournament couldn’t have been pulled off without the commitment of all the organisers and players.
All in all, it was a pleasure to see Esports thriving off the challenges this year has presented and coming together to create such an impressive event. The hard work paid off and it was a victory well deserved for Lancaster. I for one can’t wait to see what next year brings. As has been proven this year, there is no obstacle that can get in the way in the battle of the Roses.
