Our college students have enjoyed being a part of our first ever eSports team, set up by our FE Games Technology tutor Kyle Cherry. eSports is a form of competition using video games. Most commonly, eSports takes the form of organised, multiplayer video game competitions, particularly between professional players. Our eSports team, Confetti Arrows, currently participate in the British eSports Championship, playing the popular multiplayer game Overwatch.
We spoke to our captain Jacob during their season…
So how did the first Confetti Esports team, Confetti Arrows, start?
Our coach and tutor, Kyle, announced one day that we’d be creating an Overwatch team. He sent out an open invitation to anyone that played the game and whoever showed up was given a shot at making it on the team. We had a short induction period before a starting six, subs and reserves were selected.
Did everyone in the team know one another before the start of Confetti Arrows?
Nope! We all knew one or two other people, but we’ve all come into this fairly blind. It’s amazing how close we’ve become considering that. We’re basically a family at this point!
What skills have you developed while being part of The Arrows?
I don’t think any experience could have been better for teaching me coordination, teamwork, and leadership. It’s similar to playing a physical sport like football – there is a level of discipline involved that you need the experience to gain. We’ll all definitely have gained some useful skills by the end of this.
What’s the dream…where would you like to see Confetti Arrows go next if you keep on winning?
Well, we’ve already confirmed our place within the playoffs, so by our understanding, a good placement in that will give us the chance to compete for tickets to Insomnia, the UK’s largest gaming convention. However, outside of college and the British Esports Association, we plan to compete in the official open division for Overwatch, with the same team and strategies. We would not only be playing for a part of the prize pool but for a place in “Contenders”, Overwatch’s official semi-professional league.
When’s the next match and can we watch it on Twitch again?
You can! We play every Wednesday or Thursday at around 4-6pm, match times are announced in advance on our Twitter. This week we played Farnborough Falcons and won again after a closely fought battle! We stream on our Twitch account.
If you’re interested in Games Art, Production or Technology, check out our college-level and degree courses. If you like what you see, we highly recommend you book your place onto one of our upcoming open days.
