PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds (PUBG) is a true surprise hit. It’s sold 10 million copies and overtook League of Legends as the most-watched game of Twitch right now – and the finished version of the game isn’t even here yet!
On the esports front, ESL experimented with a $350,000 PUBG Invitational at Gamescom back in August, which was fun to watch despite some teething issues. But what about UK esports organisations, teams and players? Dom Sacco looks at some of those who are starting to get involved.
.
Opinion – can PUBG make it as an esport?
If PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds has taught us anything, it’s that despite fierce competition there’s always room for more – if what you’re offering is good enough.
The numbers mentioned above prove that PUBG has what it takes. It’s also become the first Stream game to keep 1m concurrent players for seven days’ straight, while big streamers like Dr Disrespect have helped create a special buzz around PUBG.
This is a game that could be around for quite some time to come, and in my opinion ESL’s Invitational at Gamescom also proved it can be a viable esport.
I’m not saying the broadcast was perfect – it’s incredibly difficult to observe and cast a game that has 100 players running around at the same time – but for me it was great fun to watch. Especially the solo tournament.
It was also nice to see that the very first game in the PUBG Invitational had two UK players left standing: TSM’s Gary “BreaK” Marshal and Team Liquid’s Daniel “Hayz” Heaysman.
“It was nice to see two UK players left standing in the first PUBG Invitational game: TSM’s BreaK and Team Liquid’s Hayz.”
I remember UK casters Derry and Tridd and co mucking about with PUBG on Twitch earlier this year, and I wish I’d followed it more closely sooner, because those guys were onto something!
I also agree with Richard Lewis’ comments on PUBG as an esport – it has potential but we need to be wary not to do too much of it too quickly. For me, weekly matches and group stages are a no-no – especially if a split is too long.
Richard compares PUBG’s last-man-standing to the WWE Royal Rumble wrestling fest. Part of what makes that so exciting is it’s an annual event. If you make it weekly, it loses part of its magic.
For example, I think maybe having one or two splits per year in the UK scene could work. Speaking of which…
.
PUBG and UK esports
Right now there is no regular PUBG activity with the UK-based esports tournament providers – such as ESL UK, Gfinity and the UK Masters (held by Multiplay).
Yes, Multiplay had a PUBG community tournament in the BYOC hall at i61 last month, and that was a good start, but it didn’t have a standard prize pool or a big enough focus. The occasional online tournament is appearing across Europe, however.
There are also a few PUBG grassroots communities and streamers cropping up here, of course – and now more UK orgs are getting involved.
The largest or most well-known of the UK-based orgs is probably Method – they have just announced their PUBG roster, as covered here by the Daily Mail.
“We are excited to be apart of this fantastic up and coming game and look forward to seeing what the future holds. It’s such a fun game to watch.”
Paul “Despise” Barcz, NerdRage.Pro
The UK’s Vexed Gaming were invited to take part in the PUBG Invitational at Gamescom.
They have ex-Fnatic CoD player radMki and Lry on their team.
Elsewhere, Sensei are taking part in the PUBG Online Contender Series, for example. They were one of 20 teams invited to take part from across EU and NA, with 20 above them taking part in the upper-tier Showdown Series.
Speaking about the upcoming season, Sensei player BRuZeR said: “We were ecstatic to have been invited to the PUBGOnline Contender Series. We managed a good showing in the first round of the Contender series ending the night in sixth place overall.”
Then there’s UK org NerdRage.Pro have just announced their own PUBG team, who took part in the Legends Arena tournament online:
We now have a #PUBG team! ?
Welcome @flowzu @Tazzz_PUBG @ImKeys_ and @ShyPUBG into the nR family! See you in the #battlegrounds pic.twitter.com/FA7PTu8uHF— nerdRage (@NerdRage_pro) 11 September 2017
NerdRage.Pro co-owner Paul “Despise” Barcz told Esports News UK: “We are excited to be a part of this fantastic up and coming game and look forward to seeing what the future holds. It’s such a fun game to watch.”
Co-owner Rupert “Rudiak” Cary added: “We are hopeful there are big things to come for PUBG. It’s more about teamwork/map coordination than pure skill, so any team really has a chance if they put the work in.
“Whilst it’s early days, it makes sense to jump on board. The player base already exceeds Dota, and CSGO is in its plateau state. Esports is in need of another big game like League of Legends, but one catering to the shooter market. Blizzard screwed Overwatch and skin betting screwed Counter-Strike.”
We’ll have to wait and see what UK organisers bring to the PUBG table in the near future. Whatever happens, there’s interest from the UK scene.
Anyone be interested in seeing some kind of ‘UK scene’ PUBG in-house games?
— Charlie Tizard (@CharlieTizard) September 14, 2017
The player’s perspective: ‘We look forward to seeing more PUBG tournaments emerge’
NerdRage player Oliver “Tazzz” Holloway speaks to Esports News UK:
“I have been anywhere and everywhere in esports in the five-plus years of me competing,” he said. “I’ve been coaching and managing orgs. I was last seen here with LoL after i56 with AeroX, but recently I have moved PUBG to the forefront of my competitive nature alongside teammates Shy, Keys and Flow.
“We have been together a while and been playing the game from the very beginning whilst pursuing other esports ventures. Recently PUBG has taken off after the Gamescom Invitational and really caught our eye.
“We want to see if we could make an early transition and make the most of it by being one of the first full UK rosters to be signed by UK-based organisation.
“Thankfully now under NerdRage.Pro and the amazing help of DinoPC, we look forward to competing in events such as Multiplay’s Insomnia events and look to see if any third-party-based hosts want to make a leap in the near future towards this great game. Of course, we will be waiting to bring NerdRage great results in the near future.”
Further reading: ‘Battle royale games have a big place in the future of esports’ – Team Liquid’s UK players
Dom is an award-winning writer and finalist of the Esports Journalist of the Year 2023 award. He graduated from Bournemouth University with a 2:1 degree in Multi-Media Journalism in 2007.
As a long-time gamer having first picked up the NES controller in the late ’80s, he has written for a range of publications including GamesTM, Nintendo Official Magazine, industry publication MCV and others. He worked as head of content for the British Esports Federation up until February 2021, when he stepped back to work full-time on Esports News UK and offer esports consultancy and freelance services. Note: Dom still produces the British Esports newsletter on a freelance basis, so our coverage of British Esports is always kept simple – usually just covering the occasional press release – because of this conflict of interest.
