Team GB brings home 2 silver medals from European Games Esports Championships

5 July 2023

From Friday, June 30th, to Sunday, July 2nd, the first-ever edition of the European Games Esports Championships was organised. The inaugural event took place in Katowice, a city in the south of Poland, and featured two esports titles: Rocket League and eFootball. After the Commonwealth Esports Championships back in August of last year, the Global Esports Federation (GEF) and the European Olympic Committee decided to take the next step by organising the European Games Esports Championships this summer. More than 7,000 players from 48 countries came together in Poland last weekend, which included Team Great Britain and Northern Ireland, who managed to clinch two silver medals.

Great Rocket League run

The British Rocket League team, represented by Williams Resolve, was given a spot in Group B of the tournament at the European Games Esports Championships, together with the Netherlands, Turkey, Ireland and Luxembourg. The Dutch were untouchable during the group stage, winning all four of their matches, including a 3-1 victory over Team GB. That was the British side’s only loss though, as they beat Turkey 1-3, Luxembourg 3-0 and Ireland 3-0 as well on their way to second place in the group.

Hungary was waiting in the play-offs, but the Eastern Europeans were no match for the Brits as they went down 3-1. Up next was the upper-bracket semifinal and once again, the Netherlands stood in the way of British glory. This time though, the defeat was even a bit heavier than the one in the group, as the in-form Dutch cruised past Team Great Britain: 3-0. This relegated the Brits to the lower bracket, where they beat Hungary once again, this time with a resounding 3-0 scoreline. This helped Great Britain through to the final, where, of course, the Netherlands were waiting once again. A 4-0 defeat was not the ideal way for Team GB to finish a very good run of games at the European Games Esports Championships, but they can be very proud of their silver medal, nonetheless.

Mixed eFootball fortunes

Great Britain also provided a couple of representatives for the eFootball side of the European Games Esports Championships. Welsh player Cerith Dennis took part in the eFootball Open, where he unfortunately did not make it through the group stage, while Northern Irish transgender woman Emma “Emzii” Rose claimed a silver medal in Women’s eFootball event. No other participating country took home more medals than Great Britain, which is a great achievement by Team Great Britain and for esports in the UK as a whole.

Most awarded team at European Games Esports Championships with 2 silvers for Great Britain and our most successful campaign yet”, wrote Mark Weller, current Great Britain and Northern Ireland team manager, on his own Twitter account after the event, “A shout out to our entire '23 squad, you've done yourselves proud and made history along the way”.