Photos by Eddie Lemon / andtheysay.co.uk
University of Chichester’s esports students hosted their first esports event last week – the Challenger Cup 2022 – featuring CSGO teams WSIHE Warriors and Zara’s Angels.
It was put on entirely by students, including casters, hosts, broadcast producers, content creators and various management staff – the future of esports. Sports media students also helped out with the cameras and other students with lighting. But how did it go? Student journalist and photographer Eddie Lemon reports.
The Challenger Cup: Behind the scenes
From the off, the event was run professionally, with a project manager elected, and four group managers leading teams of students focusing on different areas in event planning.
At first glance, the event looked simple – put some computers in a room, get some funky lights and players to play – but I can assure you, it was not that simple.
After countless hours of hustling and a glamorous social media campaign, the HyperX and Fluxx Gaming sponsored event was ready to go. Ultimately becoming a CSGO best-of-three showcase match between WSIHE Warriors (first year students) and Zara’s Angels (second year students).
Minor tech difficulties plagued the third-year students event team – or the Chi Challengers as they like to be called – with a delayed start and initial audio issues, but the team dealt with it in a professional manner and remained calm and composed. They were able to fill the space created by tech issues with a casting team of Alfred ‘ZolaSMH’ and Charlie ‘Cmd64’ Drudge- an up and coming dynamic casting duo in the world of CSGO.
Having cast for the SCL Masters most recently, the duo have a vast amount of experience casting CSGO games, matches and tournaments. This, however, was their first esports event they casted while being in attendance, an experience invaluable to have under their belts.
Other students took on various on-air talent roles, including analysts Aaron ‘Rayless’ Kelly, John ‘Gunner’ McIver and host Conor ‘Conny’ Albery – some of whom were rookies to the on-air talent scene, but with the passion brimming, you couldn’t even notice.
The main takeaway is that, regardless of the expected technical issues, esports students with very little lighting, audio and event hosting experience were able to successfully get the event going again without making the issues obvious.
How did The Challenger Cup fare compared to other esports events?
The event, in its full glory, fared exceptionally, when you consider that some of the students directly involved haven’t even attended an esports event similar to this (note from the editor: this event was actually better than some broader UK esports I’ve been to – Dom).
Every aspect you’d expect to see in a professional esports event was integrated, from a talent manager, to make sure that the analysts, casters and the host were in the right place at the right time, to a marketing department who were in charge of creating graphics and promotional content to devise and execute a social media campaign – nothing was missing.
The event itself ended up being a 2-0 clean sweep for the WSIHE Warriors, with the first years besting the seconds and earning bragging rights that will last for a lifetime.
Whilst this created for a great overarching result for the event, we were left wanting more. The atmosphere, regardless of the smaller crowd size, was intoxicating. And with the students visibly torn between watching the event and running it, we can’t blame them.
What’s next for the new pioneers of esports?
Esports is ultimately a community, built upon friendships, connections and a sense of camaraderie and the students behind The Challenger Cup are no different. The course has been probed and dissected by outsiders voicing their opinions, but on the inside – regardless of the good, the bad and the ugly – the course is a diminutive version of the esports industry and who’s to say why not to these students?
The students at Chichester University put on an extraordinary show, and in terms of quality, they stormed it – setting a very high standard and precedent that, dare we say, any other event of the kind will struggle to reach.
What is to be seen from the Chi Challengers next is a different matter. With the finish line in sight, the students will be graduating with high hopes and bright futures within esports ahead of them, and who knows, maybe one day you’ll see a glimmer of The Challenger Cup at a much bigger, much larger esports event run by these hungry esports students.
The final word: What place do degree courses have in the current era of esports?
Esports is an industry that’s very much about who you know and opening doors through industry contacts, but the emergence of esports university courses is inciting change. Getting a degree in esports could become the norm, with young esports enthusiasts breaking into the industry in any capacity.
The idea of an esports university course had its fair share of sceptics at first, but now there seems to be more acceptance of the idea of studying esports.
What was initially a simple module assessment turned into a microcosm of the esports industry – an actual esports event, put on entirely by students. A tangible example that esports courses can work – and do have benefits. Third-year esports students at the University of Chichester were able to successfully put on an esports event, and through thick and thin, highs and lows, the event was an overwhelming success.
A quote to epitomise the whole ordeal came from Matthew ‘Kharne’ MacDonald, esports manager for Player1 Events. He was one of several industry guests on the day, including DotX Talent head of partnerships Mitsouko Anderson, ExtremePCUK director Nik Taylor and Esports News UK’s own Dom Sacco, with lecturers Rams Singh and Brandon Smith also observing.
Kharne said: “When I walked in, it felt like an esports event.”
I think that just about sums it up, for esports students- with little to no experience actually in the industry outside of the course- to be able to put on an event that a veteran events person claimed to be just like the real deal, shows how lucrative esports courses can be.
Watch the full Challenger Cup broadcast here
Further reading: In-depth interview with Rams ‘R2K’ Singh on going from pro gamer to esports lecturer at the University of Chichester
