UK Universities Exeter and Portsmouth are set to take on a selection of Europe’s best university esports teams in Teamfight Tactics (TFT) this weekend, battling for the Amazon University Esports Masters (UEM) crown.
The finals, hosted by university esports events co-ordinators GGTech and NUEL, will see representatives from 16 universities from across Europe fight through the playoffs on Saturday before competing for their share of the €2,000 prize pool in Sunday’s grand finals.
Amazon UEM gathers the university teams that led the spring season of League of Legends, Rocket League, Teamfight Tactics, and Clash Royale, and provides them with the chance of representing their institution and their country against top competitors from across Europe.
The UK players in TFT are Adam ‘Zomimi’ Parkinson from the University of Portsmouth and Daniel ‘fizzthehomie’ Xiao Ming Goldstone from the University of Exeter.
Zomimi said: “I think I have a decent chance at winning. I believe I’ve proven on ladder that when I’m playing at my best I can compete with any player so I am confident that I have a shot.
“I’m also grateful for the opportunity to be the UK representative, hopefully I can perform well and do the UK proud.”
fizzthehomie added: “I’m feeling a bit nervous going into the tournament but I think I have a good chance as long as I stick to my game plan. I feel really excited to represent the UK in this tournament, being able to compete against other top tier players is a great opportunity to show my skills.”
In League of Legends, Imperial College London’s Imperial Apes will soon represent the UK in the Amazon University Esports Masters.
And in Clash Royale, the University of Nottingham and University of Bath will participate in those finals on May 24th and 25th, with a €2,000 prize pool.
In Rocket League, UK university teams Loughborough Lions and Portsmouth Paladins reached the recent Amazon University Esports Masters 2022 playoff finals. Loughborough Lions ended up finishing second in the tournament, falling to Dutch team Haimon Righ 4-0 in the grand final.
The end of Amazon University Esports’ UK spring split
These European finals follow last month’s finals in League of Legends where Imperial College London’s Imperial Apes emerged victorious over De Montfort University’s DMU T1.
Event organizers GGTech and NUEL have reported 1,029 new players, 361 new teams and six universities in the sprint split, making up a total of 7,863 players across 109 participating universities throughout this academic year.
David Jackson, GGTech/NUEL country manager, said: “We are delighted to see such a competitive split with the finals of the Amazon University Esports Masters in full flow. We have welcomed a number of new and returning teams and players throughout the year for a series of great competitions.
“It is fantastic for these students to experience the thrills of esports in its entirety, from playing the games, to casting, to event production.”
David Jackson, GGTech/NUEL
“Esports is one of the fastest growing industries in the world and it is important for these students to see the potential careers this area has to offer and the enjoyment it can bring.”
Amazon University Esports Masters, supported by GGTech and NUEL, is produced in collaboration with partners including Riot Games, Intel and Twitch Student, which will be broadcasting the playoffs and finals.
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.
