ESI London

Looking back at the biggest year in UK esports

Esports isn’t a new phenomenon for the nation, but how can it keep building upon the success it saw in 2018?

AUTHOR Adam Fitch  @byadamfitch

nspired by a panel set to take place at ESI London 2019 with participation from the likes of ESL UK, FACEIT, UKIE, Taso Advisory and the British Esports Association, Esports Insider takes a look at the events which provided the building blocks for the biggest year so far in UK esports. I

Hailed as a landmark year, 2018 saw some of the biggest esports tournaments hosted on UK soil for the very first time. Kicking off the year, ESL One headed up to Birmingham, playing host to first ever Dota 2 Major in the country. The tournament saw twelve of the best Dota 2 teams battle it out for a hefty $1,000,000 (£810,560) prize pool and all-important DPC points. Hosted at the 15,800 capacity Arena Birmingham, ESL reported that it sold over 1,000 tickets in the first five minutes of them being made available.

On the back of its success, ESL One made its return for 2019 where it was once again hosted in Birmingham. The $300,000 tournament was recorded as the most-watched ESL Dota 2 event in history, with a peak concurrent viewership record of just over 300,000.

Elsewhere, UK production company FACEIT brought the first-ever CS:GO major to the UK. The tournament, which was hosted at the SSE Arena in London, saw Astralis lift the trophy after taking down Natus Vincere in the Grand Finals.

It was reported by FACEIT that over one million concurrent viewers tuned into the Grand Finals on Sunday. At the time of its conclusion, the tournament was celebrated as the third-highest viewed esports tournament, behind Dota 2’s The International 2018 and the League of Legends World Championship 2017, excluding Chinese viewership. The Major also received mainstream attention with Sky Sports broadcasting the final matches of the tournament.

Clement Murphy, Marketing Manager for FACEIT commented on the monumental year: “Hosting the FACEIT CS:GO Major in 2018 was a huge honour for us, and personally a career milestone for me. More and more UK businesses are stepping up to the global esports scene to put on world-class events, and 2018 was our most successful year yet. It’s up to us to learn from all the great things we did in 2018 and keep pushing them forward to make the UK the esports capital of the world.”

Since the Major, FACEIT has kept up the momentum hosting a number of

Clement Murphy Marketing Manager FACEIT

UK-based events, including the Esports Championship Series (ECS) Season 7 Finals, FACEIT Ignite: Halo European Open, and FACEIT Global Summit: PUBG Classic.

UK esports organisation Excel Esports announced its entry into the coveted Riot Games’ League of Legends European Championship (LEC) in 2018, too. Since its introduction into the LEC, the organisation has gone from strength to strength. A strategic collaboration was announced with Twickenham Stadium which saw the creation of XLHQ, the first endemic dedicated esports training facility in the country. The organisation has also announced partnerships with peripherals brand HyperX, and Belong Gaming Arenas.

Additionally, in the world of League of Legends, UK esports received a boost when Riot Games and LVP announced the creation of UKLC. The tournament represented the developer’s biggest commitment to the UK yet with a

multi-million-pound investment. The nine teams participating teams were required to go through a rigorous selection process to show their commitment to creating a long-term partnership. Fnatic and Excel, who both participate in LEC, secured slots to field their academy teams in the UKLC - setting a standard of play for the rest of the teams. There is no doubt 2018 was a high point for the UK esports industry. Going forward, it’s integral that the local industry works to ensure that the biggest years in UK esports are yet to come, though this will doubtless prove a challenge. With the likes of UKIE working closely with the government and stakeholders throughout the space, the work being done by the British Esports Association, the emergence of esports at the university level and the increasing amount of international events taking place in the UK, it’s clear that the challenge has been accepted.

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