Listen to the audio version of this article (generated by AI).
Overwatch 2 caster Jace shares their thoughts on the biggest Epic.LAN event to date, Epic 43, as it took place last weekend from October 24th to 27th 2024 at Kettering Leisure Village
Held every four months in Kettering, Epic.LAN offers LAN tournaments for some major esports titles as well as the traditional LAN experience.
This one turned out to be its biggest to date with over 900 signups and additional spectators appearing throughout the weekend.
Roughly a year ago, there were discussions involving some of the more notable names in the UK scene with regards to bringing Overwatch back to Epic.LAN for its 40th event. Now at Epic 43, some of the biggest names in the grassroots Overwatch scene from the UK and Europe gathered together to compete across two days of competition.
Alongside Edgar, Toasty and Gio, I was asked to be a part of the broadcast team for this event. This article is just going to be my extended thoughts on the event, the Overwatch scene and future prospects for OW in the UK and LANs in general.
‘A strong community vibe’ – immediate walk-away thoughts on Epic 43
Personally it felt fantastic to cast in a live environment again, next to my co-caster and in front of a live audience. Having the interaction with players, managers, coaches and spectators before after after games was amazing. I wanted to again say thank you to everyone from ExOblivione, Kevh, Ashh, Artemis, Prash, SXJ and Gass Tier3, Alba, Boomed and Sketchi for speaking with me throughout the weekend. Especially before the live finals.
I’ve struggled really badly with anxiety, particularly due to travel ever since covid ended, but everyone there was amazingly supportive.
In its entirety, the venue they used was good: a smaller upper section that was quieter and a big downstairs open floor that housed basically all of the 40+ Counter-Strike teams that attended, AND the live stage with casting booths behind it all with full production setups.
Really there was just a strong community vibe from the whole place. I was firmly reminded whilst esports is still relatively young, LANs are not. Maybe my perspective is warped but just like Magic: The Gathering, being able to attract older players and keep continued support decades after its launch only signifies how well you’ve done to grow your ideas and cement them into people’s minds. It created memories so good, people have to come back to make new ones.
Speaking of which, there were people of all ages: married couples, families, esports teams and more throughout the whole weekend. Oh, and even an MP – Rosie Wrighting – visited.
For any LAN purists, I thoroughly recommend attending Epic.LAN.
Even if the desire for esports somehow perishes overnight (God forbid – Dom), Epic will continue. I’m sure of it.
A bright spot in a dark future for Overwatch 2 esports
It’s nearly impossible to reference the state of Overwatch esports without first reframing it as having to phoenix from the massive collapse of the Overwatch League only a year ago. This is still newfound territory, certain organisations have already bought in for the long haul, while some have come and gone already.
The waters are uncharted and murky to say the least. However, the passion is still there and a light exists that is perhaps even stronger than it was during OWL. The league itself centralised everything in West Coast America for a majority of its time.
Since then, Europe has felt more competitive, it’s been allowed to breathe and really shine. I like this, I am a fan and this is a good thing. It’s impact has scattered all the way down to regional LAN events like this one.
We had some of the best names in Europe for this event, Tredd, Senna, Prash, Tekuno, Skytorr and SXJ amongst our two grand finalists. The first season of the OWCS (Overwatch Champions Series) was a success, with its grand finals or worlds event happening at the end of November. Faceit is running leagues and tournaments, it feels like a replacement to Contenders or open division, yet the popularity and coverage isn’t quite there.
A quick shout out to the goat, Jeff aka Bullskunk, for at times providing solo coverage of Faceit, casting, spectating and just presenting a pathway for this tournament to be covered. It’s literally the only way I am aware of anything going on in Faceit.
LAN Learnings
Coming into this LAN, everyone expected the consistent well-oiled machine of Ex Oblivione to take a clean sweep with their synergy, dive speciality and playmaking. The backline duo of Prash and Tekuno were going for their third straight LAN win. Gass T3’s roster was an amalgamation of players all with various experience, whilst their better players could compete and outmuscle ExO’s.
In the end it was really decisive for Gass Tier 3 as they didn’t lose a single map in the upper bracket and the grand finals.
Our grand finals MVP for his excellent battle cattle was Tred. This guy is seriously so, so good. Watching these player’s POVs from right behind their screens was deeply fascinating. How they intake information, react to it and what they are looking for.
I think this speaks to just how well Gass adjusted with each map and how much we underestimated this roster, rather than overshooting ExO’s power as a unit. Seriously, Alba and Knowledge got better on every map. I have no doubt this current ExO roster will continue to put up great results in EU over the next few months.
Senna is also just a monster on Widowmaker, wow this hero in the hands of someone with space and this level of mechanics entirely violates the game. It’s so warping. The entire ExO plan HAD to shift to containing her, otherwise she would just kill at least Kio every fight. She basically won Dorado, the final map, denying a first point cap with a grapple above first point into two instant kills. Within five seconds ExO didn’t track the respawn, letting her grapple up to the one spot and end the map.
I’m not sure if anyone caught it, but the audience saw me visibly throw my hands up in the air, shrug and exhale loudly as I slumped back into my chair watching Senna decide her team weren’t losing. Unreal pop off moments from the CAH hitscan.
Final Thoughts on the biggest Epic.LAN to date and the future of UK esports LANs
Overall, Epic.LAN was a really enjoyable event to work at and attend. Any casters should love the LAN experience and the chance to cast a live final. It’s a career highlight no matter the level and an unreal memory.
Regardless of what happens with Overwatch, there is strong support particularly for CS and Valorant at Epic.LAN, and I encourage any competitors to sign up in February for Epic 44.
Overwatch is unlikely to be returning at Epic44 from what I understand, however that doesn’t close the door to other events in the future or to other LANs.
I, like many others probably are, am digging into details about the recently announced Enclave LAN scheduled to happen in April 2025 in Milton Keynes. As of right now there are gaps in my own knowledge about the who, what, when and where, so I cannot give a fair analysis or set expectations (Jace, I’m marking you down for not reading our Enclave LAN article on this! – Dom).
There may be a market for esports and Overwatch could be one of them.
Outside of the bubble that exists around Overwatch, which could pop at any time, I am optimistic about LANs in the UK – they only seem to be increasing with interest. Games like Valorant and Deadlock becoming popular and attracting more people will help add to the seemingly thriving UK Counter-Strike scene.
What happened with Insomnia Gaming Festival was awful. A part of esports history was lost. Hopefully Epic can continue to bring in sponsors and keep their events profitable, it’s important to remember that it runs largely on passionate volunteers who just simply love what they are about and are trying to do.
Thanks again to ENUK and Dom for the continued support throughout the years. Always a pleasure to produce content for and with this site (you’re welcome friend, and likewise – Dom).
