eXe: HicCup

Well, it's been a long time coming, and I'm sure some of you have already seen! But I'm officially teaching at Exeter College and helping run eXe Academy! #exe

Votre équipe de France pour la Coupe du monde d’Overwatch 2026 🇫🇷

if i may add my two pence to the “girls only” valorant tournament i am seeing on my TL (as the person that created women in esport’s lioness cup and has plenty of TO exp)- it’s clear there’s a real demand for more grassroots tournaments in the women’s VALORANT space, but also some education needed on what’s truly inclusive. excluding minority groups can actually harm the community, despite this being an attempt to engage with it. as a TO - be clear in how you communicate with your community (so they know what to expect) - but most importantly, be open to feedback, instead of shutting those voices down.

The QRT is a long post, so just for emphasis:

Now I know why I wasn't invited...

After seeing some responses to my tweet about the new UK board, I wanted to kind of clear up as to why I spoke about grassroots. I saw some people say that "oh the tier 1 isn't good in the UK that needs to be done first" but at least for me esports is something that started out as community events and then built into something much bigger. While we can sit here and criticise every aspect of UK esports its safe to say grassroots is in a terrible place and esports is something that doesn't work when built top down as seen over the past few years. I think it's unfair to say that grassroots doesn't need the support when that's the pipeline for new talent, staff, fans, and the process which turns gamers into competitors. I'm not going to sit here and say that I'm upset my company isn't making £2million a year profit, I knew exactly what we were getting into when we started. But at least for myself and the other @TheCTRLEsports and a lot of the other teams in the UK, if we didn't exist then how are events going to grow? Teams bring A. Funding for players B. Narrative and excitement to events C. Unbelievable shit-posting around the events and more. I think it's apparent that something needs to change when the only event we have consistently is @EPICLAN and it's only consistent because of the sacrifices @jon_winkle and the other working there have made to ensure it's kept going. The UK as a whole has some incredibly talented people and nowhere near enough jobs to supply for everyone. But how can there be jobs when teams that are in even Tier 2 of VALORANT are working full-time at normal 9-5 jobs and pouring every penny they can spare into their teams with no rewards. My issue with this board is not that the people on the list are undeserving because that isn't the case, from the people I know on the list they are people who have worked hard and will hopefully to good for the UK scene. However, how can we be expected to sit here and smile when the main point that needs work (the foundation pillars of esports - grassroots) has essentially no one to speak for them. What we need is more government involvement, whether that is bidding to get new events into the UK, having grants open for esports that allow for companies to explore whether that is for events, talent development or something else. The main issue is, sponsors heavily invested during lockdown when things were peaking and now that growth doesn't yield as much return. I think it would be great if there was some sort of panel for grassroots esports where we could meet and pass on ideas to this panel. But in reality someone like @jon_winkle should be on there, not to glaze the guy too much but EPIC.LAN do 3 events per year and deal with the grassroots teams, players, fans, and talent all the time, they have an understanding of what is needed and how that can be provided sustainably. I think once we start building from the ground up, that's when we will see positive change, because how can you expect a sturdy system if the pillars it's built on are almost non-existent. Again, this is from my point of view, I'm sure there is certain aspects that I can't see from where I'm standing but I'd love the opportunity to pass on ideas and create a space for teams to flourish.

It could have been said any better! Esports is a fantastic and vital industry that is growing rapidly! UK grassroots needs tremendous support it's unreal, if tier 1 is only supported moving forward the wave of burnout that is going to happen in tier 2 and 3 is going to be insane!

British Esports Student Champs South Regional Overwatch Final against Reading Ravens on Wednesday 6th May!! Time for the Ravens to #facejudgement!

Esports gotta be one of the few sectors where you can be terribly bad at your job, and still have a career because the people in charge have never had experience running a successful company that turns profits. 🤣

This panel is made up of Tier 1 orgs, LinkedIn Esport LARPers, and a few dodgy names. Not sure how they're going to help grassroots esports, when names here have actively hurt the scene in past. They'll just shake hands with each other and serve their self interests. @uk_ie

I have a mixed response to the names on this list. The one person I am definitely glad to see, though, is @FrankieWard - she is someone who I wholeheartedly support. More critical and upfront (specifically non-corporate) names must be included if productive change is the goal. A heavy corporate-led presence risks losing sight of the individuals and small businesses who maintain the foundational grassroots in esports, the very same who often feel the impact of change most significantly. Aside from two or three promising names, I don’t have particularly high expectations. I can only hope that hard truths will be heard, but don’t trust that they will.

Forget AI... We're hiring a full time junior graphic designer to join NIP's creative team. Looking for someone who knows esports, has an eye for design and proficient in photoshop. Send me a DM with your portfolio or tag anyone you know below!

lifting trophies = best exercise😄

We're teaming up with LAMZU to give three of you a mouse and mouse pad upgrade! Giveaway Requirements ‼️ - Follow @LAMZUgear + @Envy - Repost this Winner will be announced 5/8

"Big cars are safer"

Asha Sharma became CEO of Xbox only 2 months ago and she's already done some big things for its customers: - Cut Xbox Game Pass Ultimate from $29.99 to $22.99 per month - Announced Project Helix, the codename for the next-gen console - Rebranded from Microsoft Gaming back to simply Xbox - Scrapped the “This is an Xbox” marketing campaign - Committed to human-crafted games and ruled out low-quality AI content - Boosted direct fan engagement on X with faster responses and updates

@sylvia_rll 💪💪💪

playing for DXT in this :)

@GrantRous @TeamGBR_Esports Huge.

Very happy with the selection we've made here. We built out some clear performance criteria as part of our review and interview process, and have selected what we feel gives the best opportunity to @TeamGBR_Esports from a leadership and communication perspective for coaches. Criteria for a 'new national' team as a coach is very different to that of a traditional esports coach, and I'm glad we took that approach. Amazing work from @HereLiesJeff leading it all, together with @ODEEisOG and @saahibreehal!

@vanloo_cameron @MobileLegendsOL @jeffsimpkins My GOAT.

Honoured to be selected as @MobileLegendsOL coach for Team GB 🇬🇧 Excited to showcase UK talent and grow MLBB nationwide. Lots to do let’s get to work! Thanks to the surge & @JeffSimpkins for the help and the confidence retrospectively

Due to the international, cross-border nature of esports, traditional union structures are not really viable HOWEVER, do we need a more prominent union-style mechanism in esports? It seems to me that more standards/protections need to be in place for esports employment…