Left to right: Coach Richie Hughes, eFootball women’s player Emma ‘Emzii’ Rose, eFootball Open player Nick Hatton, team manager Michael Smyth (standing) – photo credit Mx Clair McAllister
Esports Northern Ireland (NI) will be competing at the upcoming Commonwealth Esports Championships in Birmingham, and they hope their performances will help put esports on the map in NI.
Esports Northern Ireland have qualified for the eFootball Open and eFootball Women’s tournaments, with Nick Hatton and Emma ‘Emzii’ Rose representing them in those respective competitions.
The pair told Belfast Live that the Northern Irish esports scene is small, and they’re hoping their efforts will help lift the region.
Emma Rose said: “The Northern Ireland esports scene is tiny. There are a few spots that you can actually go to to play in LANs but nothing huge, nothing to the scale outside of the UK. I feel Its like a sleeping giant though, because I know [team manager] Michael Smyth and his drive with esports, and if we can do the country proud then it’s only going to grow.
Nick Hatton added:
“Esports in NI is very much in a development phase. But it has such a global following and I really hope that we can kickstart its appeal here.”
Nick Hatton, Esports Northern Ireland
“I know several gamers here that are highly rated in global leaderboards across a plethora of games, but the structure just doesn’t seem in place to allow them to develop that. If we can help provide a pathway for NI gamers, then I would consider that the greatest achievement.”
Emma Rose also spoke about playing on stage as a trans person.
Emma Rose told ITV: “That’s the main reason I wanted to do it – to get more girls and LGBT people known for Northern Ireland and known for gaming, to show that the opportunity isn’t just for guys, it’s for anyone.
“The aim is to go for gold, the competitor in me wants to say I’m going to win. [The Commonwealth Esports Championships] is huge and I’m just honoured to be a part of it.”
Emzii also spoke to the British Esports Federation in the below video interview:
The news comes after Esports Wales revealed their esports rosters, and Esports England’s rosters were also announced.
Wales and England are also competing in Dota 2 and Rocket League as well as eFootball.
Esports Scotland’s Commonwealth rosters and announcements are expected to be made soon.
The Commonwealth Esports Championships take place on August 6th and 7th 2022 at the International Convention Centre (ICC)/
Tickets for the live Commonwealth Esports Championship are available to purchase via the The Ticket Factory. There’s also the Commonwealth Esports Forum happening in Birmingham on August 5th.
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.
