Student-led society Durham University Esports and Gaming (DUEG) has today announced the North East Esports Festival.
This is a two-day celebration of the esports and gaming industries with a focus on the North-East of the UK. The
event is aimed at students and those seeking pathways into these areas, and will include a range of tournaments, casual gaming and guest speakers.
The North East Esports Festival will take place on the weekend of Saturday March 4th and Sunday March 5th 2023.
While the full schedule will be released soon, attendees can take part in tournaments for Rocket League, Overwatch 2, and the return of King of the Hill #4, DUEG’s termly Super Smash Bros Ultimate regional, all with prizes up for grabs.
Panels at the North East Esports Festival will include those showcasing the Northern UK esports scene, and both student and org perspectives on breaking into the industry. There will also be dedicated time for networking and stalls allowing local universities and colleges to share the work they do.
Kai Heale, the president of DUEG, said that geography unfairly plays a big part in access to the industry.
“I have seen a lot of exciting events taking place mostly in London, and very rarely are they genuinely accessible to students such as myself,” Kai said. “As a society, we have also missed out on opportunities for our members purely because of where we are located.
“Instead of just resenting the London-centric nature of UK esports, I realised I was in a position to create something that would bring the opportunities to us and allow us to highlight other areas of the UK.”
Kai Heale, Durham University Esports and Gaming
“Though we are lucky to have support from our university to deliver this event, at its heart this is something built by students, for students, and for those who are looking to break into the industry. This means making it affordable was our number one priority and we hope that the programme of events we have planned will genuinely help those who attend and show what we can do up north!”
Kylie ‘Lliandra’ Kendrick, Technical Specialist – Esports, from Durham University (who also plays Valorant for Skelp NYX), said that the North East Esports Festival is a great opportunity to boost the region.
“At Durham University we are determined to raise the profile of esports in the north-east by providing accessible and exciting events which we hope will attract both new and existing esports enthusiasts alike,” Kylie said. “Our newly created esports strategy includes four major principles, of which the ‘Populous’ principle applies strongly here.
Durham University Esports and Gaming are dedicated in their efforts to ensure the north-east is viewed as a growing competitor in esports, not only in terms of skill but also for esports education, volunteering and socioeconomic impact. We hope the North East Esports Festival will be a successful stepping stone to other events that will provide additional
visibility to grassroots esports talent, potential Durham undergraduates and outstanding companies/sponsors situated in the north-east.”
Tickets are available now and cost £10 for general admission for the whole weekend, including tournament entry. They can be found on the North East Esports Festival ticket page.
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.
