A new documentary series from BBC Three has been commissioned to give viewers an insight into League of Legends esports.
The ‘Fight For First: Excel Esports’ show will be available to stream on BBC iPlayer in early 2021.
Narrated by Golden Globe and BAFTA nominee Cillian Murphy, this five-part series follows UK-based esports organisation Excel Esports at their state of the art training facility at Twickenham Stadium and abroad at the LEC in Berlin.
The show allows viewers to meet the ‘six-figure salary gamers’ who were at the heart of the team earlier this year. In 2019, they finished in tenth place, but with huge financial backing, new players and a top coaching team, they fared better last season, and just fell short of a playoffs spot.
During the season, the Excel players all lived together in a gaming house, and BBC Three followed the team as they competed against some of the world’s best LoL esports players.
Cillian Murphy said: “My sons love gaming. When I showed them the trailer for this, they said I had to do it. Being involved in Fight For First has been a great experience and there is so much more to professional gaming than I ever thought.
“It has opened up a whole new world to me and this series provides a proper insight into a fascinating, global industry.”
“We’re excited to be the first UK broadcaster to follow an esports team through a global esports competition, taking viewers behind the scenes as the teenage team members juggle competing on a world stage with their lives at home.”
Fiona Campbell, BBC
Kieran Holmes-Darby, co-founder and chief gaming officer at Excel, added: “This five-part series showcases our attempts to reach the League of Legends European Championship play-offs for the first time in our history and is a completely unique insight into Excel Esports and what goes on behind the scenes of a major esports organisation.
“At Excel, whilst competing at the elite level, we pride ourselves on always striving to be better, and the series demonstrates how we practise, prepare and play. Not only will it offer our fans a deeper look into what we do, but it will also offer people who are completely new to esports a fascinating perspective of our exciting industry.”
Fiona Campbell, controller at BBC Three, commented: “The BBC Three in-house documentary team have created a fascinating series and true insight into the world’s fastest growing sport – and one that has a huge following and importance to our audience.
“We’re excited to be the first UK broadcaster to follow an esports team through a global esports competition, taking viewers behind the scenes as the teenage team members juggle competing on a world stage with their lives at home.”
Fight For First: Excel Esports is a 5 x 30 production made by the BBC Three in-house team. It was commissioned by Fiona Campbell, controller BBC Three, produced and directed by Simon Rawles, with executive producers James Corbin and Jo Smith for BBC Three.
Excel Esports recently announced a brand update, new logo and footballer Dele Alli as ambassador.
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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.
