UK Valorant player Adam ‘ec1s’ Eccles has spoken to Esports News UK about leading a new course with the Saudi Esports Academy and Gosu Academy.
The former Counter-Strike player, who moved to Valorant in 2020 and became a part of well-known rosters including Fish123, Team Liquid, NiP, the 100 Thieves Valorant roster and more, made the announcement on Twitter this week.
The free eight-week course will run in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. It’s only available for Saudi nationals, and will consist of two in-person classes and one remote class.
So how did this come about?
“I was just checking my DM requests one day and saw a message from the Gosu account, so I decided to check it out and it sounded like it could be a very cool experience for me,” ec1s told Esports News UK. “I had an interview and I can only assume I impressed them enough to hire me.”
“My role for Gosu and the Saudi Esports Academy is to be the head coach for Valorant in the eight-week course,” he continued. “This will consist of set lessons created by me including Attacking Fundamentals, Agent Mastery, and Gamesense training.”
“It will also include workshop sessions where students can come to the facility and ask me for help with anything, giving it a more personal touch.”
Does ec1s – who is currently with Maryville Esports – see himself going into coaching more in the future?
“I feel that coaching is something that aligns with me quite well, I have always studied the game and enjoyed doing so,” he answered. “I feel it’s a transition I have been hesitant in taking, as you cannot go back from being a coach to a player, so it’s definitely something I would love to do in the future, either at a professional level or teaching new students.”
“My goal with this course is to simply make every student that attends a better player compared to when they started. I can help them with ranked as well as beginning to understand the game at a professional level.”
ec1s
On being with Maryville, ec1s said: “My time at Maryville has been a great experience. I love the opportunity I have been given, to be able to study and compete at the same time.
“Unfortunately we have had a lot of roster issues and the results have been FAR from expectations, compared to when I joined. But we have made some great new additions, including former C9 and The Guard coach MCE, who has been a great help so far. So I am excited to see what happens in the next semester.”
Lastly, what advice would ec1s give to aspiring players out there?
“I would like to add a message to all aspiring players out there to continue your education, if you are good enough you will make it regardless of the conditions,” he said.
“I really hope that in Europe – and especially in the UK – the university scene will grow and offer scholarships for players to be able to compete while pursuing an education.”
The news comes as the inaugural Esports World Cup 2024 kicked off in Saudi Arabia this week.
Related article: The History of UK Valorant Esports
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.
