Rival teams from Brighton and Sussex face off in e-sports tournament to settle old scores.
Commentator lounge at VRCT
On 27 April 2024, the e-sport societies from both Brighton and Sussex held the annual Virtual Reality Championship Tournament (VRCT) in The Venue, Lewes Road in Brighton from 10-11 p.m.
The event consisted of teams from Brighton Esports Society and Sussex Esports competing across a variety of video games including League of Legends, Rocket league, Overwatch 2, Rainbow Six Siege, Dead by daylight, Counter-Strike 2, and Valorant.
However, due to technical difficulties and player absence, Rainbow Six Siege was cancelled.
The previous year was hosted at Sussex University, with Sussex Esports claiming victory from Brighton’s grasp. This year it was Brighton’s turn to play on home turf and the team was determined to make a comeback.
Defne Yavanirmak, president of the Brighton Esports Society, said: “Well, it was obviously a rocky start. We were all very stressed and we didn't know how it was going to go.
“We should have taken more time to prep. That's one of the things that we need to do for next year, for sure.
“All the players turned out like they really enjoyed their games. Players that won and lost. I think they both appreciated playing with people that like the game just as much as them.
“The casting people here were all lively and had great feedback for both teams. And the interviews went well.
“So overall, except obviously a lot of tech issues and a lot of timing issues, I think everybody had a great time.”
The event consisted of players competing in the far side of the venue, whilst guests and attendees were able to spectate the games alongside commentators as they enjoyed snacks and drinks from the bar. Guests were also able to enjoy various minigames as teams prepared for the next round, with games such as Jackbox and Gartic Phone.
The event saw overall more than 50 registered players in total compete for their respective sides, with VRCT 2024 seeing a higher attendance in comparison to the previous year.
Here are the results of each round in VRCT.
VRCT Brighton vs Sussex e-sports teams
Round 1: League of Legends
League of legends, developed by Riot Games, is a multiplayer online battle arena (Moba) where teams of five race to destroy the enemy base called a Nexus. One match was planned for the round, and ended just as soon as it began with the Sussex team dominating the scene. Though key character switches bought Brighton some time, it only delayed the inevitable victory for Sussex as they claimed the first victory of the day. The round ended in a 0-1 score to Sussex.
Josh Croudace, player for Sussex Esports, said: “It went pretty good.
“I think there's something going on, but I came down, I went bottom lane, and I got to kill their ADC.
“And my mid-laner got a solo kill as well in the first six minutes.
“I was especially told by my ADC to come back and, uh, so I had to ignore the top.”
Round 2: Rocket League
Rocket League sets teams of three against one another, driving in cars to hit a ball in the opposing teams’ goal. The round consisted of five matches. Things were looking up for Brighton as they scored the first goal, followed by Sussex scoring two goals in retaliation. Fourth round saw Brighton score a hat trick with three goals in a row. Until finally Brighton snatched victory from Sussex’s grasp with a 3-1 score in the final match. Ending the round at 3-2 to Brighton and bringing the overall VRCT score to a tie at 1-1.
Round 3: Overwatch 2
The third round was three matches of Overwatch 2, the hero based first person tactical shooter where teams of five compete to secure various objectives. The first match was a game of control on Ichenwald, followed by a game of push on the map Rio de Janeiro, won by Sussex. Final round was a game of push on Watchpoint Gibraltar, where Sussex secured its victory against Brighton with a 0-3 score overall. Ending the round with a 1-2 score to Sussex.
Round 4: Dead by Daylight.
Dead by Daylight was mechanically the most unique of all the games featured at VRCT. A cat and mouse scenario where four survivors must survive against the enemy killer. Brighton’s survivors managed to survive a close encounter with Sussex’s killer in the first round with only seconds to spare. The Sussex survivors did not fare so well against Brighton’s killer as the round ended in a draw, ending in 2-1 for Brighton and bringing the overall VRCT score to 2/2.
Jake Brierley, player for Sussex Esports, said: “The lag teleported me back like ten meters.
“And Neo was looking over at my screen at the time in his face when it happened. It was really bad.
“It was an interesting game, I think. We've beaten them before we lost this time. So rematch in the future, I guess go again. Honestly.”
VRCT Brighton vs Sussex team round 5
Round 5: Counter Strike 2.
The penultimate round, following the cancellation of Rainbow Six Seige, was various rounds of Counter Strike 2. Teams of five competed in the online first-person tactical shooter where one team must plant a bomb, and the other seeks to defuse it on the games iconic map called Nuke. A hard fought battle on both sides with Sussex taking an early lead and ending the game with a 6-13 victory against Brighton. Bringing the overall VRCT score to 2-3 to Sussex.
Round 6: Valorant.
The most anticipated game of the event, Valorant, was Brighton’s last chance to end the day with a draw or risk leaving the event with yet another loss. Valorant is a hero based tactical shooter, where teams of five aim to eliminate the opposing teams. The players from Brighton were able to overcome their Sussex rivals. resulting in VRCT ending in a draw with a total score of 3-3.
Bình luận