NUEL’s 2022 Winter finals took place this past weekend, and it was the first LAN event for national University Esports since the pandemic.
The experience of playing in front of live crowds is much different than playing from the comfort of your own home, in front of a stream, and for many of the players in NUEL’s League of Legends Winter finals, it was their first experience playing in front of a live audience.
De Montfort University beat University of Kent at Confetti X in Nottingham on Saturday, and their Mid-Laner described the experience of playing in front of live spectators: “The venue is really pretty, bright, and I enjoyed coming in,
“The adrenaline is still going, but yeah I enjoyed the venue, the crowd, the cheers, everything, it was nice to play.”
For a sport that’s entirely online, it may come as a surprise to some just how much a live event can impact the quality of a finals experience for players and fans alike.
With fans from Belfast to Canterbury, the crowd was everything for the players on Saturday.
The most authentic stage they have ever experienced, coupled with Confetti X’s state of the art facilities, left De Montfort’s top-laner Casper thoroughly impressed:
“It’s very very nice, the whole atmosphere is pretty good, the building and the facilities are absolutely massive, it’s crazy,
“I highly envy that we don’t have any of that at my University, we just have a couple of computers and lab chairs.”
The De Montian top-laner attributes his start in competitive League of Legends to the first time he watched ‘Worlds’, LoL’s annual international competition:
“I got into Esports after starting to watch Worlds, and I always wanted to be like those guys,
“So Esports are very important to me and I really enjoy participating in such events,
“Even if I’m not the player, even if I’m the spectator or have been invited it’s still a super nice atmosphere and you can meet people who are like you.”
The venue can host up to 100 spectators and has plans to host future events such as the Spring and Summer NUEL finals, as Confetti X has partnered with both Amazon and NUEL.
The event was almost entirely student-run and since the venue is owned by Nottingham Trent University, it was able to give tons of students practical experience in running the technical side of a broadcast heavy event like Esports.
Although it was De Montfort’s first time playing in front of a live audience, it was not their first time at NUEL finals, Casper elaborates: “We’ve played for two years already, we participated in last year’s winter finals as well, but that one didn’t go as well.
“So I’m pretty happy that I am here now that we have conquered the scene.”
After winning both of the UK’s university Esports finals over the weekend, De Montfort can look forward to playing in front of even more live crowds in future events.
