Update (October 22nd 2021): Organisers have announced the Scottish Esports League live finals are being backed by a host of 5G initiatives, and a separate Call of Duty event will take place.
Esports Scotland has reached an agreement with Activision Blizzard to run the Call of Duty Esports Scotland Cup, a standalone PC tournament played on controller scheduled to be held on the opening day of the grand finals.
The four-day event will use 5G technology for its broadcasts, powered by Dundee City Council’s 5G testbed in collaboration with Scottish Futures Trust and Abertay University. However, teams will still be playing on LAN as per usual.
Attendees at the finals will also get the chance to game via the 5G network within one of the dedicated sponsor gaming rooms. Fans in attendance will also be able to check out a ‘skills showcase’ area to illuminate career prospects within the esports industry.
The event is one of a series of use case trials within the Tay Cities Region Deal 5G project and is being supported as part of the Scottish Government’s £2m investment in fifth generation mobile communications.
The Tay Cities Region Deal is a partnership between local, Scottish and UK governments and the private, academic and voluntary sectors which seeks to create a ‘smarter and fairer’ Angus, Dundee, Fife and Perth & Kinross. In total, the 26 projects submitted require investment of £700m, of which £300m over 10 years is being put in by the UK Government and Scottish Government, subject to approval. It’s hoped to create up to 6,000 job opportunities.
Original article (July 29th 2021): Tournament organiser Esports Scotland has announced that the Season 4 live finals of the Scottish Esports League (SEL4) will take place at the Dundee Contemporary Arts hub from November 18th to 21st.
The four-day grand finals event will see the nation’s top gamers competing for a share of £11,000 in Scotland’s Silicon Glen tech sector.
Last year’s Esports Scotland competition, SEL3, saw 590 players compete across three games: Rocket League, CSGO and Rainbow Six Siege.
A record number of players are expected to enter the frame at SEL4, with two new games joining – League of Legends and Valorant – alongside returning titles.
Ahead of the competitive action, which starts with an online tournament in late September, players are being invited to tune their skills at next month’s pre-season stage, before competing for a place at the SEL4 Grand Finals.
Fans can register interest to attend Dundee’s gaming finale on the Esports Scotland website, for a chance to watch some of the country’s most talented players on top of their game. Amongst the contenders in previous years were popular YouTuber, Gary Marley, and brother Marc Marley, who has made a name for himself as a professional FIFA player alongside the likes of Adam Ryan who is competing on the global stage.
Beth Bate, director of Dundee Contemporary Arts, said: “We’re delighted to be working with Esports Scotland on bringing this finals event to Dundee, supporting the city and Scotland’s tech sector. Competitive gaming connects people from across the world and we’re very proud to have such a strong home for it here in Dundee. We’re looking forward to welcoming gamers to DCA for this exciting competition.”
“We’re delighted to be working with Esports Scotland on bringing this finals event to Dundee, supporting the city and Scotland’s tech sector. Competitive gaming connects people from across the world and we’re very proud to have such a strong home for it here in Dundee.”
Beth Bate, Dundee Contemporary Arts
James Hood, owner of Esports Scotland, said: “Throughout lockdown, we witnessed more people playing games than ever before, so we’re excited to provide a platform for the nation’s gamers to develop their talent, and appetite for competitive match play. I’m a true believer that we have the potential to produce esports icons of the future, so striving to offer a top-level environment for them to progress here in Scotland has been a huge goal of ours.
“SEL4 will mark another major milestone for Esports Scotland and we’re delighted with our progression over the past 12 months, which has allowed us to secure such a modern and technologically advanced venue. We’re hugely excited that our dream to host an event of this calibre is becoming a reality.”
To register for the competition, teams must be a minimum of 16/18 years old (dependant on titles), with at least 66% of the team born or residing in Scotland. For additional information, full event details and to sign up, visit the Esports Scotland website. The online tournament and grand finals will be broadcast on the Esports Scotland Twitch channel.
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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.
