Update (2020): ESL UK has closed the studio following staff layoffs, and now uses a studio at York University as part of a partnership with the uni.
Original article (April 2016):
Esports News UK was lucky enough to check out ESL’s new Studio 1 facility in Leicester last week – here’s our views and pictures from the launch day.
Although it’s rather inconspicuous from the outside, as soon as you step into the new studio it’s clear this is something special.
While it’s pretty dark, there are hues of blue and white lighting up the area; it’s not the biggest studio in the world but perfect for livestreaming – and more importantly – it has an atmosphere.
There’s a narrow bar area near the entrance – ideal for networking – before the studio opens up into the main spectator and stage area. There’s a walkway round the back of the seating area, which can seat around 100 spectators.
There’s space in front of the stage for a couch or for the host to stand and present to the audience, while the stage itself features a curved player desk, with room for up to five players per team.
Behind this, there’s a 10m x 3m LED video wall – one of the biggest in the UK – worth around £141,000. This wall is modular, meaning if one of the LED panels breaks, it can be swapped out and repaired without having to replace the entire screen.
Moving back away from the stage, there are stairs from the bar area leading upstairs to a balcony. There’s a superb view of the stage here, with a caster desk and analyst desk facing one another at opposite ends of the room.
A sneak peek of the new @ESLUK studio from the analyst desk pic.twitter.com/USNWtGA7eG
— Dominic Sacco (@Dom_Sacco) 29 March 2016
At the far left there’s a door leading to a production room, with space for up to 30 camera feeds, all running in 4K.
It’s believed that ESL has invested around £700,000 to £800,000 on this state-of-the-art facility, and it’s money well spent in our eyes (but of course we would say that)!
Here’s an inside look at the ESL UK Studio 1 production studio… pic.twitter.com/NDpYuhUFS5
— Dominic Sacco (@Dom_Sacco) 29 March 2016
ESL UK’s James Dean said the facility will help foster homegrown talent – and we can’t see why this wouldn’t be the case.
With a facility like this, which plays host to finals such as last weekend’s ESL UK League of Legends Premiership playoffs, it should give players an added incentive to participate at the higher levels of eSports.
The casters’ desk at @ESLUK Studio 1 pic.twitter.com/Xy2b1QGzya
— Dominic Sacco (@Dom_Sacco) 29 March 2016
We managed to play a game of Rocket League with industry members and other reporters (the Sky News Swipe team was there). It’s a fantastic set-up.
We have a world class facility – now let’s produce some world-class UK eSports teams.
Check out our pictures of ESL UK Studio 1 below:
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.
