University Esports UK & Ireland Spring Season cancelled

Darragh Harbinson, Senior Editor

Last Updated: 29/01/2026

David Jackson has shared that NUEL (National University Esports League) will not run the Spring season of University Esports UK this year.

The NUEL Managing Director cited financial problems as the reason for the cancellation, but shared the possibility of running University Esports Masters later this year.

David Jackson shared the following message on the University Esports UK & Ireland Discord channel:

“It is with great sadness that I’m announcing that NUEL will not be running a Spring season of University Esports this year.

If the University Esports Masters returns this year, we may run a Great Britain qualifier, and will confirm any updates on that separately.

We will continue to post relevant updates here, and will stay in touch with your society leaders about any future university activities we plan to run.

The esports industry is in a challenging place right now, particularly for competitions like ours that rely heavily on sponsorship.

Sadly we’ve reached a point where, for now, it’s not possible for us to run university esports sustainably.”

Jackson described his regret that the Spring season would not be held, continuing:

“These tournaments have been going since 2010, and everyone in the management team was originally a NUEL player themselves, so this has been a real labour of love for all of us.

I’d like to thank everyone who has got involved in any way to help make NUEL what it has been over the last 15 years. It has been a privilege to be a part of this community and lead this team. Thank you.”

Despite the cancellation of the Spring University Esports season, the body confirmed that it would continue to organise or support other notable events in UK esports this spring.

The events listed are:

• Valorant UK Circuit
• Teamfight Tactics Northern Legends
• UKEL League of Legends
• Riot Play Club

NUEL’s painful decision shows a shifting landscape

NUEL was founded in 2010 by Josh Williams to provide opportunities for students to get involved in esports and represent their Universities.

Josh Williams described to Esports News UK in 2015 that the idea didn’t take off instantly, “It was a lot of hard work – nobody turned up to the first event! It took a while; it wasn’t an overnight success.”

However, as esports became more mainstream and understood, NUEL was able to build a playerbase numbering from 6000-7000 players per season in 2025.

In 2023, NUEL was acquired by Spanish-headquartered esports organiser GGTech, with Josh Williams leading GGTech’s global University Esports program.

The acquisition saw NUEL and GGTech expand outside of university esports, taking part in projects such as League of Legends’ Rising Stars, Teamfight Tactics Northern Legends, and Rainbow Six tournaments.

Despite those successes, the cancellation reinforces the fragility of both the university and the global esports climate, as it explores alternative options for revenue generation.

NUEL has also faced marked competition in recent years from NSE (National Student Esports), the host of the British University Esports Championship.

Formed in 2017 by Benchmark, NSE was soon backed by British Universities & Colleges Sport (BUCS), the coordinating body for university sports in the UK.

Acquired by the British Esports Federation in November, NSE boasted a 17,800-strong player base in the 2024/25 academic year.

Darragh Harbinson, Senior Editor

Darragh Harbinson is an esports writer specialising in Counter-Strike. He has written for Esports News UK, Esports Insider, UKCSGO, Dexerto, and Rush B Media.

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