Leeds and Manchester based Pixel Bars have announced the launch of Pixel Esports, an in-house team that will represent the bars in a variety of tournaments and games.
Pixel Esports have started with a Rocket League team, who will be playing in the upcoming RLCS Spring Split Open qualifiers, and they hope to expand into different esports titles throughout 2022 and beyond.
The roster also plays together as the Salford Lions university team, which recently qualified for the 2022 Collegiate Rocket League World Championship.
“Teams will train and play in our PCSpecialist Gaming Arena and over the next few weeks we’ll be announcing more strategic partners who will be helping us achieve our goals. We’ll also be working with coaching bodies such as the IFoEC to provide elite level of coaching to our players.”
Craig Ryan, Pixel Bars
Pixel Bars’ esports teams will train/bootcamp and play live from the Pixel Bar venues.
Customers will be encouraged to get involved with cheering on the teams live from the bars and enjoy competitive esports on a community level.
Pixel Esports’ Rocket League team includes English players Keude and Jiggi, as well as Polish player Arton, Welsh sub Luke and Saff as coach/manager of the team.
Director Craig Ryan said: “This has always been a key goal for Pixel but unfortunately the pandemic prevented us from launching.
“The concept is simple but quite novel, we want to bring in good local players and make them great. To do this, we’ll be working with key strategic partners to provide the best possible development and support for our players.
“Teams will train and play in our PCSpecialist Gaming Arena and over the next few weeks we’ll be announcing more strategic partners who will be helping us achieve our goals. We’ll also be working with coaching bodies such as the International Federation of Esports Coaches (IFoEC) to provide elite level of coaching to our players.”
A jersey reveal and partner announcements are set to follow.
Pixel Esports will be playing in to the RLCS Open Qualifiers from 5pm this Friday (April 29th 2022), with the action being shown live on screen in both bars.
Management say this move is a first for British esports – though it’s worth mentioning the former manager of Meltdown London, Duncan Morrison, has previously played Hearthstone competitively in several tournaments.
Related content: Interview with Pixel Bar co-founder on running a UK gaming bar during a pandemic, crowdfunding esports prize pools with drink sales and opening a second venue
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.
