Regional champions prepare for the esports semi-finals
After a thrilling 4 weeks, we have found our regional champions! Students from around the UK battled it out for a place at the upcoming semi-finals, with 11 of the 55 competing schools now going forward to the next stage of the tournament to fight for their place in the grand final in April.
Following an eventful series of regional qualifiers in the south at the start of February, the past 2 weeks saw students in the north of England and Northern Ireland compete in Ballymena, Leicester, Manchester, Leeds and Newcastle. There were highs, lows, drama and exhilaration throughout but one thing's for certain, this year's tournament promises to be one to remember!
We share some of our favourite moments from the last two weeks, as we prepare for the next stages.
Ballymena
A firm favourite regional location for the Digital Schoolhouse team, the energy of the Northern Ireland students didn't fail to disappoint as we witnessed some of the closest matches to date! A particular highlight was watching the final match between Ballyclare High School and St Mary's College, when a 0.2% difference secured a Turf War success for the St Mary's team. Ultimately, it was the Ballyclare team who claimed the victory but the all-girl St Mary's team proved to be formidable opponents!
Leicester
Lodge Park Academy arrived wearing Inkling hats and it set the tone straight away for the day. Despite there only being two teams, they were both passionate about the game and the battle was fierce! Ultimately it saw the students from Shire Oak Academy come away as winners but Lodge Park's Shianne secured the best commentator prize so we look forward to seeing both schools represented at future stages of the tournament.
Manchester
It was a true North West derby with schools from Manchester and Liverpool competing for a place at the semi-final. But the star of the show was commentator Lawrence from North Liverpool Academy, who kept the energy high across every match and drew quite a crowd of shoppers throughout the day. Sadly we couldn't stream the matches that day but we know he'll come back to deliver an amazing performance at the semi-finals (once he's rested his vocal chords of course)!
Leeds
The Leeds stop on our esports tour was certainly one to remember. Six schools battled it out to claim that final spot in the semi-final, and the action was as intense as ever. The winners on the day, Outwood Academy, excelled against tough opponents to come out on top as they refused to be beaten. One of the players on the team claimed to be in the top 20,000 Splatoon 3 players in the whole of the EU and NA regions, so this team is not to be taken lightly!! The commentating was another excellent highlight of the day, as Dax took home the award for best commentator as they grew in confidence with their way with the mic as the competition progressed throughout the day.
Newcastle
Last but not least, we hosted our final regional event at Newcastle High School for Girls in their incredible auditorium. Teams from across the area came together and played in front of an inquisitive audience of students who were able to watch from the balcony in between lessons. There was some excellent gameplay from all the competitors but the celebration of the winning school, Gosforth Junior High Academy, was infectious! Jumping, screaming, hugging and a couple of knee slides thrown in for good measure too! It'll be tough to find a more passionate spectator team who can out-cheer the Gosforth clan!
A huge thank you to our regional hosts, Belong Arenas and a special shout out to Newcastle High School for Girls for opening their doors to the competition!
Next week, we'll be hosting our south semi-final at Guild Esports on Thursday 14th March in, London, followed by the north semi-final on Thursday 21st March at Leveltap, Liverpool. Who will make it through to the grand final, for a chance to become our 2024 champions?? Who knows, but we hope you'll join us on Twitch to follow along with the action!
