It’s been a busy few days for UK esports organisation LDN UTD. On October 20th they announced an esports collaboration with Durham University, and a day later their Valorant team won the LVP Rising Series 4, before playing in the Red Bull Home Ground qualifier.
The two events were a clash for LDN UTD, who managed to (in their words) ‘speedrun’ their way to victory in the LVP tournament, beating fellow UK org Tenstar in the final, before playing in the separate qualifier versus Ninjas in Pyjamas.
LDN UTD went undefeated in the latest LVP tournament, and beat Tenstar 3-0 in the grand final, though Tenstar came close in games two and three, losing 13-10 and 16-14 respectively.
This earnt them €2,000, with Tenstar taking home €1,000.
Then, in the open qualifier grand final for November 2021’s Red Bull Home Ground, LDN UTD fell to Ninjas in Pyjamas in a 2-1 match, winning 13-10 before losing 13-8 and 13-8 again across the three games.
NiP are one of 16 teams taking part in the main event, joining the likes of G2, Team Liquid, Gambit and UK orgs Tenstar and Fnatic. There’s more info in the link above.
However, despite the loss, LDN UTD were added to Red Bull Home Ground, stepping in for Heretics, who withdraw after benching several players.
Elsewhere, LDN UTD have announced a new partnership with Durham University, promoting the benefits of esports to students and the wider Durham community with a host of activities, without the need for an esports degree.
Of Durham’s some 20,000 students, more than 1,300 of them currently holding membership to the esports society – around 6.5% of the total student population.
LDN UTD will help students develop their skills, learn about the industry, gain work experience opportunities and stay healthy while playing.
The partnership will include:
- Seminars and talks relating to mental health, career development and esports content creation, with speakers from LDN UTD’s professional and support rosters
- Digital skills workshops to bolster student skillsets relating to topics including mental health, coaching, team management, events management, nutrition and more
- Online tournaments and offline large-scale events in the form of an esports festival, providing entertainment and social interaction for all
- Esports scholarships for those attending Durham University, aimed at creating a pathway into the esports industry
- Durham University’s support for LDN UTD players with their nutrition, mental health, physical fitness and more
“Working with the team from LDN UTD will help us develop our playing and knowledge of the esports sector so much. This is not only important for our student members, but also for the wider Durham community.”
Lordie Bevan, Durham University Esports Club
Director of experience at Durham, Quentin Sloper, said: “This partnership opens up some outstanding opportunities for our students and the wider County Durham community. Working with the team from LDN UTD and going head to head in competition with some of their professional gamers will provide a platform for our students to test their skills at the highest of levels whilst giving them exposure to the range of career opportunities, beyond competing, that are now rapidly opening up within the industry.
Current esports club president, Lordie Bevan, added: “Working with the team from LDN UTD will help us develop our playing and knowledge of the esports sector so much. This is not only important for our student members, but also for the wider Durham community. We at DUEG feel strongly about promoting a happy, healthy, and fulfilling community experience through the median of esports here at Durham.”
Founder and CEO of LDN UTD, Oliver Weingarten, commented: “The reputation of Durham University speaks for itself, and as we look to broaden the mission of LDN UTD, we look forward to partnering to support the students and engage a wider community.
“Education is a key tenet of the LDN UTD values, alongside wellbeing, diversity and inclusivity in the esports space. We believe the industry specific support and guidance we can provide will ensure the success of Durham’s esports projects going forward.”
Related esports education stories:
- Staffordshire University games and esports senior leadership shake-up – Dr Bobbie Fletcher leaves after 28 years as new heads join
- Esports added to Duke of Edinburgh’s Award programmes for young people in the UK
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.
