A look back on Epic39: Smooya and Extinct become most-decorated Epic.LAN players, plus Epic40 returns to Kettering with special celebrations

Dom Sacco, Senior Editor

Last Updated: 21/06/2025

In late July, Epic39 took place in Wolverhampton, once again bringing competitive gaming fans and teams from across the UK together for another Epic.LAN.

We know, this article is a month late, but they do say better late than never… plus, we’ve got some info on the next event too for you.

Tom ‘Gumpster’ Gumbleton, Epic.LAN league ops manager (and historian, might we add), once again came up with some stats and facts from the Epic39 LAN.

He reveals that UK CS player, streamer and personality Smooya, along with Irish player Extinct, have become the most-decorated Epic.LAN players to date, each with six titles to their name.

Elsewhere, StarCraft II player ibabattlenet (aka Zam) became the youngest ever winner at just 14 years old in that competition at Epic.LAN.

Esports News UK also reached out to Gumpster for any additional info and he said: “I’d probably say LVN’s Final mishaps 2.0 is a curse at this point, after losing to Dusty at Epic35 and now losing to Smooya’s mix team at Epic39 means he has had two very good opportunities to win LAN and come away empty handed in CS.

“Other than that, Iba is the youngest ever SC2 player to make Grandmaster and then ended up winning Epic39 over Razerblader for the weekend. Incredible performance.”

Also, while Valorant only had seven teams at the event, they made the loudest noise as their shouting outdid CS players, Gumpster tells me.

A special shoutout must also be made to The Binmen, for raising more than £1,000 at Epic39 for YoungMinds, the UK mental health charity for young people.

Epic39 winners roundup

Epic39 powered by Intel saw The Neighbours (aka nghbrs, featuring Adam9130, Dobbo, smooya, Extinct, bevve and shoobie) win the CSGO tournament.

Bleak (featuring Jamieee, jam, YaBoiLewis, waddle and Lime) lifted the Valorant trophy, while the aforementioned Zam won in StarCraft II.

There’s the full list of Epic39 esports standings on the Epic.LAN website.

Epic40 approaches – here’s what to expect from the next Epic.LAN as it returns to Kettering

Epic40 is a special one. It marks founder Jon Winkle‘s 20 years of running events – and ten years being at Kettering.

It’s also a return to Kettering after Kettering Conference Centre was due to close, causing Epic39 to move to Wolverhampton. Now, Epic40 will take place at the Kettering Leisure Village – this is technically the same venue as the Conference Centre, but with a different name due to it reopening.

Jacob McNally, partnerships coordinator at Epic.LAN also explained to presenter Damp in this video: “It’s the 40th Epic, and it’s also Jon’s 40th birthday year. We’re planning to throw everything at this event.”

Epic40 will take place from Thursday October 26th to Sunday October 29th 2023, with a special community party taking place on the evening of Saturday October 28th.

Once again, the next Epic.LAN will feature Counter-Strike, Valorant and StarCraft II esports tournaments.

Essential UK Casino & Betting Guides

Looking for the best casinos or betting sites? Below you’ll find our recommended guides that players in the UK are loving right now.

• Non Gamstop Casino Sites
• Fast Withdrawal Casino Sites
• Best Online Casinos in the UK
• Best Crypto Casino Sites
• New Casinos in the UK

Dom Sacco, Senior Editor

Dom is an award-winning writer and finalist of the Esports Journalist of the Year 2023 award. He has almost two decades of experience in journalism, and left Esports News UK in June 2025. 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 also previously worked as head of content for the British Esports Federation.

All Posts By Dom Sacco