For transparency: Esports News UK editor Dom Sacco used to work full-time for British Esports between September 2016 and February 2021, and currently does some freelance work for them, producing their weekly email newsletter.
The British Esports Federation has announced new cup competitions featuring Street Fighter 6 and Apex Legends for its 2023/24 Student Champs.
The Street Fighter 6 tournament will run in winter 2023, while the Apex Legends cup will get underway in spring 2024. More info on the structure and format of these tournaments are set to follow soon.
The national body has also announced the introduction of the Open and Nationals, designed to showcase the best school and college teams and talent on a national level.
The Open is intended to offer competition with less higher stakes, ideal for those taking their first steps in competitive schools and college esports. And the Nationals are all about top tier talent, featuring the very best performing teams from across the UK and limited to one institute per title.
As well as the usual League of Legends, Valorant, Rocket League and Overwatch 2 tournaments, there’s also the return of the Women in Esports Cup (again in Overwatch 2, and now also with Valorant) and the Williams Racing League, in partnership with Williams Esports.
For the Women in Esports tournaments, three out of five players must identify as women or marginalised genders in order to take part.
The grand finals live LAN will also take place at the The Arena, which is a part of the British Esports National Esports Performance Campus in Sunderland.
Students at College of Esports’ esports degree-level course (which has a partnership with British Esports) can also cast and produce the broadcast for the Open league. There are also other volunteer roles available.
There’s more info on the British Esports Student Champs 2023/24 format below:
“As we launch the 6th season of the British Esports Student Champs, it’s incredible to look back at the growth of institutions competing, as well as the significant increase in the overall quality of players and teams and matches on display,” said Andy Payne OBE, Chair at British Esports.
“Our goal with the Student Champs has always been to offer amateur grassroots players the opportunity to take part in competitive tournaments and gain valuable experience. Throughout its history the champs has seen a number of institutions grow and develop their esports provision alongside their facilities.”
“We’re thrilled to be involved with the British Esports Student Champs,” added Prof. Philip Wilson, Chair at College of Esports. “We pride ourselves on being able to offer students real hands-on opportunities throughout the esports industry, and being the largest amateur grassroots esports tournament for schools and colleges across the UK, the Student Champs is a prestigious british tournament and it’s amazing that the team at British Esports have entrusted the production of these broadcasts throughout the season to our eager students.”
Registration for British Esports Student Champs opens for 2023/24 season
British Esports has announced that registrations for the 2023/24 Student Champs Winter Split are now open.
The British Esports Student Champs is the UK’s largest amateur grassroots esports tournament for students aged 12+ at secondary schools, further education (FE) colleges and alternative provision (AP) schools.
The Student Champs featured over 200 individual schools and colleges in 2022/23, including 500 teams and in excess of 5,000 students, culminating in a Student Champs 2022/23 grand final witnessed by a live audience and 250,000+ live views on Twitch.
Students can register at www.britishesports.org/champs
Key dates for British Esports Student Champs 2023/24 season
2023/24 Winter Split
- Registrations for the Nationals, Open and the wider Cups (including Street Fighter 6 and Women in Esports Overwatch 2 and Valorant Cup) are now open and will close on September 27th at 5pm.
- Fixtures will take place throughout October, November and December 2023.
2023/24 Spring Split
- Registrations for the Open and the wider Cups (including Apex Legends and Women in Esports Overwatch 2 and Valorant Cup) will kick off from December 2023.
- Fixtures will take place throughout January, February and March 2024.
2023/24 Finals
- The National Regional Finals and Open Grand Finals will take place in April 2024.
- The Nationals finals will take place in July 2024.
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.
