New UK-based esports organisation Tenstar have announced a new path to pro initiative after winning the Valorant UK & Ireland Skirmish last weekend.
The Tenstar Accelerated Professional Player Programme (TAP³) aims to ‘usher in the next generation of esports talent’ by scouting, supporting and developing aspiring esports professionals in Valorant, Rainbow Six Siege, Fortnite and other games.
It’s designed to help UK-based esports players, coaches and support staff aged 13 to 24.
Seven regional centres will help scout UK esports talent, and the Tenstar team will help with personal development, performance psychology, career advice, social media and general org support. It will also provide TAP³ jerseys as well as support for the cost of gaming gear like PCs and accessories.
Tenstar also said that where appropriate, semi-professional contract terms may be offered dependant on progress.
The first few players in the programme have been announced on the Tenstar website, including Mortal Kombat and fighting game player Amun ‘SeaCyat’ Davis, as well as Valorant, Sige and Fortnite players.
Tenstar support staff include programme manager Adrian Sadkowski and analyst/Valorant talent ID Nic ‘AKA’ Page.
Tenstar CEO Tom Roderick, said: “I am excited and delighted to launch the Tenstar Professional Player Pathway, P3. This move is a huge step for our business and re-affirms our commitment to sourcing and developing the very best in British esports with a focused pathway to pro.
“Having launched our first two full-time professional set up, and with another two titles launching over the next few weeks, Tenstar are here to make a difference. Our P3 programme will have full-time staff working with aspirational talent giving them every opportunity to follow their dreams. The team should be really proud of the hard work they’ve put in to make this a reality.”
Tenstar was announced earlier this year. It has links with Adamo Gaming, which was also announced earlier this year. Adamo and Tenstar are building a large team of more than 80 staff to help achieve their goals, partly using the Government’s Kickstart Scheme. They previously brought on board experienced UK esports professional Matt Loftus as general manager.
Adamo addressed Tom (aka Carl) Roderick pleading guilty to operating a mobile phone insurance scam back in 2008, on the Adamo website earlier this year.
Tenstar win UK & Ireland Valorant Skirmish
Tenstar beat Area 3-0 in the Valorant UK & Ireland Skirmish grand finals on the weekend to become champions of the first UK & I Skirmish, organised by ESL UK as an ESL Prem style tournament, and backed by Intel UK.
They achieved a record of 10 wins to three losses over the course of the tournament and won 13-11 in the final game on Ascent.
Russ was named MVP of the tournament.
Tenstar general manager Matt Loftus said: “This championship victory is everything we could have hoped for, for the team. Our Valorant crew have shown true tenacity throughout this season with having to field an emergency sub due to a medical emergency.
“This is only the beginning of our Valorant run and there will be plenty more trophies to be won in the future. On the back of this monumental victory, the team will be participating in VCT which is set to be the most important tournament of the year, with hopes that we can make it to the Berlin offline event. There is a lot more on offer with the Valorant team and we hope you follow us on our journey.”
There are more details on the Tenstar website.
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.
