The esports arm of UK Premier League football club Wolves recently took up residence at the University of Wolverhampton’s new £5m Screen School.
Members of Wolves’ professional Rocket League team set up a bootcamp to prepare for the RLCS Rocket League Regional Qualifiers.
During the last week in May, the team, esports manager Michael Moriarty (aka Duck), Welsh pro player Euan ‘Tadpole’ Ingram and coach Dan ‘DrK’ Knaggs, had access to high-end equipment such as gaming PCs, ultra-wide monitors and a collaborative space.
Deputy Head of School (Media), Dr Pritpal Sembi, said: “We are absolutely thrilled to welcome the Wolves Esports team to the Screen School once again. We very much look forward to further ongoing collaboration to elevate the status and impact of esports within the region and beyond.
“It is really great to see our new facilities used in this way, partly because we have ambitious plans for the Screen School’s role in transforming the screen-based creative industries.”
Michael Moriarty, esports manager at Wolverhampton Wanderers, said: “The university has been a major part in Wolves Esports since it got started in 2018. This is the first time that we’ve been able to set up in the Screen School and we’re really excited about the facilities and getting to train here as a team together.”
“The facilities here are probably a little too good for what we need for esports in terms of playing our games, but the opportunities we have with the TV production studios and the editing suites are countless.”
Pro player Tadpole added: “The facilities for us are very unique. Not a lot of other teams will have the opportunities that we will have.
“Being able to use high-end equipment is exactly what we need and the facilities on hand here are at the pinnacle of esports. It means that our level of content, level of professionalism and our level of skill can be as high as it can be. All of this combined will contribute to a more positive outlook for us in Wolves Esports.”
Tadpole, Wolves Esports
The news comes as Wolves sign a partnership with online payment provider AstroPay, which will see the company’s branding and logo featured on the front of the football shirts and prominently displayed on the shirts worn by the esports teams.
AstroPay will also have the opportunity to shoot a few videos and photos with players from the men’s, women’s and esports teams.
Last year, Wolves announced a major partnership with esports organisation Evil Geniuses.
Wolves previously partnered with the University of Wolverhampton around its Screen School. And last month, Wolves Esports moved into Rainbow Six Siege with the signing of a team ahead of the Charlotte Major.
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.
