Horizon: MersEsports 2025, Liverpool's newest esports festival
12 March 2025
Fantastic news for everyone who loves gaming and esports in the UK, because Liverpool will be hosting a brand-new esports and gaming festival this summer, called Horizon: MersEsports 2025. During the weekend of July 12 and 13, the Exhibition Centre Liverpool will be hosting a large-scale event that will see some of the best talents in the United Kingdom competing against each other in various popular esports titles, including Rocket League.
Focus on UK talent
Horizon: MersEsports 2025 will feature some of the best grassroots talent in the UK as they engage in intense competition over a span of two days. Besides offering unique entertainment and action, that is the objective of the festival as well, to support UK esports talent in any way possible. That is also why the organisation of the event will be inviting scouts from UK and international esports teams to check out the talent at Horizon: MersEsports 2025.
“With the closure of long-running UK gaming events over the past few years, there has been a growing gap for large-scale esports and gaming festivals outside London,” says a spokesperson for the organisers, “Horizon: MersEsports aims to change that, establishing an annual event that brings together competitive gaming, gaming culture, and interactive experiences, starting in Liverpool before expanding to other UK regions in the future.”
The above quote clearly refers to the cancellation of Insomnia Gaming Festival, one of the major events on the UK esports calendar in past years. We already mentioned this in our brief preview of the 2025 calendar for esports in the UK and it is clearly still leaving a mark on the UK sector as a whole.
More than competition
Even though Horizon: MersEsports 2025 will feature plenty of intense gaming action, it will not be the only thing to do at the festival. The event is made for everyone, from gamers to esports fans and families, which is why it will also offer other opportunities. These include the possibility for visitors to try out the latest PC and console hardware from renowned gaming brands, to explore retro games and true arcade classics, and to take part in casual gaming tournaments, just to name a few.
“Unlike traditional esports events that focus solely on competitive players, Horizon: MersEsports is designed as a full gaming experience that welcomes both hardcore esports fans and casual gamers”, says Tom Burke, CEO and co-founder at esports, steaming and content creation platform Streams+, “We’re building something that Liverpool and the North West can be proud of […] For too long, esports events in the UK have been concentrated in London or Birmingham. Horizon is about bringing that experience to players, fans, and families who love gaming, right here in Liverpool. We want this to be the start of something bigger, not just for this city, but across the UK.”
Besides experiencing Horizon: MersEsports 2025 live, fans can also follow all of the action online via Streams+. The previously mentioned CEO and co-founder of the platform, Tom Burke, is one of the people behind the upcoming esports and gaming festival in Liverpool.