Esports Global acquire National Students Esports in the UK

12 November 2025

Towards the end of October, a few weeks ago at the time of writing, we wrote an article for our international sister website about the launch of the Esports Global Fund LP. Created by Esports Global and backed by Kuwait’s wealthy Alshaya family, the first major objective of the $ 50 million fund is to provide sizeable investments in ten to fifteen growing esports globally.

Fast forward a couple of weeks and the Esports Global Fund LP has made its first official investment, as National Students Esports (NSE) has been acquired for an undisclosed fee. NSE is one of the leading organisations for student esports in the UK, which is why Esports Global has appointed the British Esports Federation to run the student esports organisation going forward. Together, they want to grow NSE into a student esports powerhouse in the UK and Europe.

Major move for student esports

National Student Esports was founded back in 2017 by Benchmark Group and formally supported by British Universities & Colleges Sports (BUCS), the governing body for all university sports in the United Kingdom. Together, they have promoted and grown student esports in the UK, by organising the British University Esports Championship (BUEC), among many other events and initiatives. NSE is also the driving force behind the annual “Esports University of the Year” award, an initiative that gathered more than 2.200 esports teams from no less than 117 UK universities last year.

“This deal further enhances the student esports and gaming community and is testament to the strength of NSE built under Benchmark”, says Nick Keller, CEO at Benchmark Group, “NSE has positively impacted tens of thousands of students’ lives, nurturing lifelong friendships and life skills. Following this acquisition, NSE has an ideal new home for its next phase of growth continuing in its mission to elevate students’ university esports experience, helping them now and in their future careers.”

Leading student esports provider in Europe

Student esports in the UK have already been among the most developed for a few years now and the acquisition of National Student Esports by Esports Global is set to take the sector to the next level. Under the guidance of the British Esports Federation, the organisation’s new owner wants to organise even more and even bigger student esports tournaments, and create more esports education initiatives as well. The popular British University Esports Championship will continue as normal, as will NSE’s other community activities and development programmes. In that sense, it is important to know that Chester King, founder and president of the British Esports Federation, is also one of the leading figures at Esports Global.

“This partnership with NSE is a landmark moment for British Esports and for students across the UK”, says Chester King, President of the British Esports Federation, “By combining our expertise, resources and shared vision, we can deliver an even stronger pathway for young people, from grassroots to the global stage. We look forward to working with the NSE team to achieve some brilliant things in the future.”