Spring 2022 was an extremely competitive season, emboldened from the fact it would be the first LAN since Covid started, increasing the pressure on the players. Division 1 saw some old names and some new talents and overall was a very interesting season.
This split saw the rise of inferno and the decline of mirage with Division 1 having Mirage as the second least played map. Additionally, this split was the most CT sided split to-date caused by the recent buffs to CT-side economy and the M4A1-S. This somehow excludes Division 2 as interestingly all their maps were T sided which goes against all logic, but it seems fitting for the division with some of the most cracked aimers but team coherence equivalent to a gold nova matchmaking lobby.
Whilst Valorant is rapidly rising in player base and is now NSE’s biggest game, CS still saw a rise in individual players with Warwick, University of Nottingham and Durham fielding 46, 38 and 34 individual respective players. This sadly didn’t help Nottingham as they were unable to get a single team in the top 20, in comparison Falmouth who only had 5 players and made Div 1. It was amazing to see and interact with all the different players and the competition to reach the LAN finals was immense, here’s a write up on the top teams this season.
Team Four – University of Southampton – 1st Seed for the Finals
Team Four went into this split as one of the favourites to win the title, having competed in 6 previous splits and improving each split they competed in. Team Four gets their name from being Southampton’s fourth team 3 years ago, but have since grinded as a core ,honing their skills and ability, and have been consistently a division 1 team for the past year. For this academic year, Joshua “Frosty” Tomalin and Gary “Kwackle” Nguyen joined the team and they have managed to propel the team into the finals. The top 2 players in division 1 were Team Four players, with Frosty taking over the IGL role from wndy and still being the top player in division 1. Frosty has been putting up record numbers with a 1.57 Rating, consistently being a significant factor in every Team Four game and has been one of the most impressive players of the split.
Team Four’s success in this split also has to be accredited to the veterans of the roster; Edward “Hanno” Joyce, Samuel “Ting” Tiongson and Andrew “Wndy” Davey, where they have helped guide the junior pugstars. Their intricate understanding of the rulebook and vetoes have given them an important edge in every matchup, where across the entire split they’ve only ever lost 2 inferno maps to g12 and on all other maps are currently leagues above the rest. Ting is currently the second highest rated player in the tournament and wndy has been performing exceptionally well after moving from the IGL role to an entry role. Hanno is yet to have a positive rating this tournament, however, he is the clear GOAT of vetoes and every team should try and learn from his insight.
Team Four will be going to the LAN Finals this April to face off against Rush BEE. Their relatively recent LAN performance at EPIC34 has given them confidence on a LAN environment and seem to be in good stead to perform well at the finals.
Rush BEE – University of Manchester – 2nd Seed for the Finals.
Rush BEE entered the split as the reigning champions of NSE. The team is captained by Danny “Panni” Islam who has been playing University CS since 2018, playing a gargantuan number of over 250 maps. Under interview Panni claimed that they were “not a baiter” ,however, they’re frequently left last alive, so this claim is called into question. Paani is joined by the veteran Krzysztof "kris" Płachta , having played 6 splits of Uni cs. While having a wealth of experience, kris struggles to multi-kill, and is yet to ace this tournament additionally having an abysmal clutch record during qualification. However, coming into Div 1 kris now holds one of the best clutch records and has won 2 crucial 1v3’s for Rush BEE, being a key factor in Rush BEE getting into the finals.
The youngsters consist of; Angus “AngusM” McGinty, who is playing their first year of university CS, has made a clear impact as Rush BEE’s best player in Division 1 with a 1.18 rating and is also one of the best clutchers in this split. Ayoub “xNave” Arbid currently has the most losses in the University 10mans hub, but is another fresher who has helped Rush BEE become a top Uni CS team. xNave had a huge impact in their final 2 games in the Lower Bracket and is my favourite player on Rush BEE, solely because they’re the only player who doesn’t need to crouch to get a kill. Finally, Ivan “riv” Tiryannik is also in their first year of Uni CS and has been a key factor for Rush BEE and is the team's resident rat surgeon.
Rush BEE fell to the Lower Bracket after losing 2-1 to Worik in the UB Semi-Final but fought hard through the Lower Bracket to redemption, now heading to the LAN finals to face T4. Regardless of the result, University of Manchester have seen major improvements over the past year and with their cohort of youngsters I expect for them to be consistent title challengers for the foreseeable future.
Final’s rundown
Team Four comes into the finals after only losing 2 maps, both to g12 and both times on Inferno. However, the team has also struggled on Overpass with two narrow victories. Rush BEE have similarly struggled on Overpass, with two losses against Worik earlier in the season but in their most recent match they managed to win Overpass. Rush BEE aren’t also afraid to play the least common map in Ancient and this could definitely be a pocket pick for them in the finals. The teams have only played each other once in NUEL 21 Winter on Overpass with the win going to Rush BEE 16-11 in their favour. Team 4 were not playing with Frosty or Kwackle though and these roster changes could be a determining factor in the result of the final. The finals are a battle between the old guards of NSE and the youth and its set to be an exciting match, with both teams having strong map pools and impressive talents.
Worik – University of Warwick – 3rd Place
After coming 2nd in the Winter 21 Challenger Bracket, Worik were viewed as contenders for Division 1, however not regarded as title contenders by their peers. This was due to their relatively unimpressive ELO and prior results. However, Worik did not disappoint and showed that ELO isn’t everything, dominating the qualifying stages and causing an even bigger upset by reverse sweeping Rush BEE in Week 5. Their dreams of LAN would eventually be cut short; however, their improvement was clear, and they reaped the rewards of their hard work.
Worik’s roster is on the younger side with their longest member in Dan “Shelf” Edwards, he is the resident bomb planter and also their IGL. Having only played 2 years of Uni CS Shelf has made a clear impact and has managed to coin the iconic 5 dualies in Connector strategy. He is joined by another veteran in Konstantin “Kyro” Elanov, the teams awper famed for his 1v4 clutch against Team Four. Kyro seemingly has a phobia of HE grenades only throwing 8 in 16 matches but this hasn’t stopped him from producing strong performances and helping lead the team to their success. The final veteran is Matt “DiabolicCarp” Howard, skin connoisseur and certified donator of free kills to the opposition. He's sent more messages about speaker systems than he has kills but has still been a significant factor in Worik’s success.
The team is fleshed out with the youngsters of Domantas “Dr.SpadeS” Saltenis and Patrick “PapaP” Joyce. Dr.Spades is the resident pro cs nerd and attempted his best K0nfig impression after dislocating his finger and still managing to win a 1v2 clutch. PapaP has been exceptional across the entire split, putting up a crazy 1.28 rating and being influential in every game he is in.
Worik unfortunately fell short of making the LAN finals, but due their roster's youth it's clear they’ll continue to be consistent title challengers and have made exceptional improvements.
Falmouth Phoenix A – Falmouth and Exeter Union – 4th
Falmouth, despite their size and being in the middle of nowhere consistently produces a strong cs team, having matched their placement of the previous season. The team has some of the most clutches in the league with 17 successful clutches combined.
Falmouth Phoenix didn’t exist as a team until Lawrence “Lozenger” Markey formed the team, they are the longest serving member on the team and goes against the grain of the team being clutchmeisters, after having only one successful clutch. However, without Lozenger the team wouldn’t exist and is a significant factor in the team’s success. James “Hedditch” Hedditch has been at Falmouth for the past 3 years , however, Lozenger forgot he existed, so this is his first year on the team. Hedditch is one of the most versatile players this split, holding the 4th highest rating of 1.30 in Division 1 and im sure Lozenger regrets not remembering him earlier. Archie “Rchi” Macgregor is famed for their cat ears, trying to decide map vetoes by rock paper scissors and passes server downtime by playing amongus. They’re another veteran of the roster produced a strong 1.14 rating over division 1. He is joined by Alastair “AliBond” Bond, the resident anime nerd of the team and the best clutcher on the team winning 4 key clutches in division 1.
The roster is finally rounded out by Samuel “JustSam” Maher replacing Falmouth’s one-armed player, fittingly named “1armgod” ,who graduated last year. Sam has performed strongly with a positive rating and a key decoy thrower for the team.
Despite their size Falmouth have consistently been a strong team producing good results, however due to the age of their team it will require a considerable rebuild in the future to ensure continued success.
Durham Defenders – Durham University – 5th
Duhram Defenders came into this split as clear challengers for Division 1 after coming 1st in the previous Challenger Bracket. They attribute their newfound success and their highest ever placement to Alibek “hexen” Jainsan joining the team, he used his experience in inters to push the team to success, sporting a 1.39 rating. Defenders have their own resident stream personality in the form of Sam “ionsto” Sutcliffe who has the worst viewmodel in the leagu,e however, this is offset by one of the most crucial plays during the 5th /6th playoff against g12. He threw away his AWP when pushed by a forcebuy, ensuring the round win to keep them in the game. He’s joined by Sam “Arbor” Wake-Watson, where he donned a maid outfit leading to direct game wins. This is totally unrelated to Arbor having some of the best trading statistics over the split. They’re then joined by Ken “DD” Zhou and Aidan “Aidan” Taylor. DD sports a strong rating of 1.33, however is somehow yet to get a 4k, let alone an ace and I’m rooting for you to get one in the next split. Aidan has done infinitely better than DD with a singular 4k to his name over 17 maps but still sported a strong rating. I’m rooting for both of you to get your first ace in NSE.
A team with positive vibes and has the safety net of Alex “Alex” Blackmore to fall back on, in which he is a strong player but restricts himself to coaching to give the other teams a chance. I expect them to continue along their path of improvement.
g12 – University of Glasgow – 6th place
g12 have been a consistent top team in University CS. They’re led by Callum “Squid” Hogg , who has played over 150 University CS matches since 2018 and can always be relied upon to close out rounds. Squid has the best 1v3 record in the league. Jed “Jed” McMahon doesn’t have the most imaginative name but has managed to beat one of CS’s greats, s1mple, in a Valorant match so clearly, they’re the best player in NSE. Farid “mochi” Muradov is the smoke nerd of the team and also has their own experience with professional CS, where they rolled Dosia himself and definitely was not helped by B1t or Monesey. Jamie “JayC” Clark entered University CS back in 2020 as a lowly level 1 on Faceit but has since grinded to a level where he can beat EliGE in a random pug. Whilst not having the best stats on the team, going 0 for 9 in clutches, JayC is still an important part of the team, and his improvement has been key to g12 becoming a top team. The team is rounded out by Rico “rico” Tai , having played 3 years of Uni CS and was a key factor in ensuring g12 reaching Division 1 with a 1.31 rating in swiss qualification.
g12 are a strong team and have continually been at the top of uni cs and had a well-deserved strong season eventually falling to Falmouth Phoenix in a close series.
KCL Lions – Kings College London – 7th Place
KCL Lions went into the season as strong contenders for division 1 after an 11th place placement in Winter. Musa “Moose” Ghafoor is a 2nd year student, famed for their awful sleep schedule ,however, this typically doesn’t affect their cs ability having a strong performance this season helping KCL secure 7th. Kouros “Kou” Shoja-Assadi follows in the footsteps of his brother in the University Esports scene and has a rather unique statistic in being one of the best players at entrying on to a site for his team, but is one of the worst in the league at holding sites. However, it must be commended for their efforts in KCL’s success both inside and outside the server as a committee member. The veterans are rounded out by the resident weeb Perth “ZeRoMagus” Buddhangkura, competing in 4 years of university cs and playing in over 100 matches for KCL. Additionally being the chief bomb carrier of the team, planting more than the rest of the entire team combined.
Sebastian “Vo1t” Malos has been playing University CS for KCL for 3 years now and is a current active player for FAMBIT, however he does not often play NSE. You would think this would be disadvantageous to KCL, but the newcomer Fahad “Fahudee” Alsadi has been producing incredible numbers for KCL with a 1.38 rating across the season helping fill in Vo1t’s absence. He is also joined by Colin “Beniyaz” Billhardt who is also competing in their first year of Uni CS and seems to be absolutely terrified of the bomb, having a total of 0 bomb plants across the entire season.
KCL Lions have consistently been a top team in University CS and with the injection of new blood into the team their consistency will likely continue.
Swansea Storm and the Taco Strikes Back – Swansea University – 8th place
Definitely the most “unique” name in the league, and a team that definitely is very vocal. The team currently leads the team kill standings with MilkA picking up a significant amount, however, this hasn’t stopped them coming 8th place, exactly matching last season's placement. Harry “Hazzer '' also has a certain affinity to usage of the negev, but this hasn’t seemed to hold the team back achieving the highest rating of 1.34 on the team. It's definitely an off meta strategy which is in sync with their relatively off meta map choices of Nuke with a sprinkling of Ancient. I love Swansea for this, after the pain of watching every single team playing solely Mirage and Inferno and I strongly hope they continue to reach Division 1 to save myself from insanity. They're joined by Matt “VorneZ” and J “Flobba” J who are seemingly more normal, putting up impressive ratings with 1.19 and 1.17 ratings respectively. The roster is rounded out by Daniel “Tedbog” Spackman and Sam “Obe” Roach. I have no further comments on Obe as hes a crouch spammer and I hope Tedbogs one team kill was on Obe. Overall, a strong team with flair and likely will continue to make Division 1 for the foreseeable future.
City Esports – City University of London – 9th
City Esports came off the back of a 1st place in Division 3, but it couldn’t be predicted as to how high they would end up performing this season. The team is captained by James “Kong0o” Kong who sported one of the highest ratings in the Swiss stage with a 1.83 Rating and has the 8th highest ADR across the league. He is joined by Bexultan “Me_Tea” Beketbayev who was a crucial player for their division 1 matches, with the highest rating of 1.27 on the team.
The team is rounded out by Ken and Konbu, Ken may have more bomb plants then trade kills, but both have a vast pallet of utility. City Esports was a team that was a considerable increase in the rankings of a team with considerable fire power.
Aimbridge – University of Cambridge – 10th
Going into the season Aimbridge were seen as relative outsiders, this was after coming 10th in the Challenger Bracket in Winter. However, they had a strong season peaking with a win over Queen Ethelburgas. Nathan “skelet_man” is competing in his second year of Uni CS with a mouse that cost less than 3 tesco meal deals. This didn’t stop Nathan from having a strong season, achieving a 1.14 rating. Ben “Ben1” Cornwall-Jones is the longest active player on the roster with 4 years competing in university CS, this helped lead Aimbridge to their newfound Div 1 success. Ben is famed for his days on Aimbridge A and getting destroyed by a washed up cajunb. Oliver “FourloM” Taylor is the resident baiter of the team, consistently the last player alive. However, Oliver was aimbridge’s best player in Division 1 and was crucial in the win over StratherS. Charlie “Charlie” Brunt oversees force buying every round, this ensures that they don’t have enough money to buy an AWP and he is forced to scout. However, Charlie has actually put this to great effect being the highest rated player on aimbridge. Harry “Gregory” Wright rounds out the team with the lowest MVPs in the tournament but is the true MVP in his dedication to the Diary of a Whimpy Kid. Harry has also never lost a single-entry hold but has only thrown 16 flashes to Nathan’s 170.
Aimbridge doesn’t have the strongest team on paper, and are more known for a certain “smile”, however, they rode their luck this season and managed to get a top 12 placement by some strong performances, they definitely have a strong base to build on for the future.
Surrey Stags – University of Surrey – 11th
Surrey Stags went into this split as an extreme outsider after only coming 13th in Winter 2021’s Division 3. However, they’ve been one of the most improved teams over the Winter Break and have been ridiculously impressive this split. The team is headed by Alexander “SK3LET4L” Rubenstein. Alex is one of the ancients of the current university scene, competing in 16 separate splits and has played every role there is. A true bastion of the team, putting up the best rating on the team with a 1.29 rating. He’s joined by the other veteran in Ben “Artillery” Hodges , who is a natural talent at rifling, consistently opening up sites single handedly and has been a key figure in Surrey’s success over the years.
Surreys major gains have been provided by their fresh blood in Taraaf “trf” Khalidi, Joe “jo5ephj” Beesley and Archie “Wilson” Hodgson. trf is a key new appointment with his wealth of cs experience playing for top teams in Bangladesh, also having important experience playing against top teams such as Tyloo. Jo5ephj is flatmates with trf and has sold more kitchens than he has levels in faceit, but has been a strong IGL for Surrey leading them to Div 1 success. Finally, Wilson in all his youth for some reason stans AleksiB, but is selfless enough to play the support roles and has been a backbone for the team this split.
With this impressive fresh blood for Surrey, I expect them to continue to reach Division 1 and are definitely future contenders.
StratherS – University of Strathclyde – 12th place
StratherS resonate the energy of a Swiss team who are just partaking to enjoy themselves, a lovable chaotic team but have actually performed very strongly this split. Going into Spring they were definitely challengers for Division 1, this was after a mid table placing in the Winter Challenger Bracket. Millar “Millar” Wilson might not have the most creative name but was a significant player in StratherS making Div 1, topping the team in Qualification and Division 1, helping pick up crucial wins over Queen Ethelburgas. Josh “ev0” Foreman is one of the few players to impressively win a 1v4 in Division 1 , but has been more of a curse to the team than a benefit, after every time his cat comes to visit him, StratherS lose the game. The cat antics continue with Milo “SlipperZ” Mckoen where every time they put on their cat ears; they also promptly lose the game. A team cursed by superstition naturally would be rounded out by the two coolest names in NSE: Ross “BigDaddyRozza” Gildea and David “Bilbo Swaggins” McNamara. Bilbo Swaggins might currently be 0 for 13 in clutches, but at least they have a cool name.
Overall, a very fun team and also a very strong team and I expect to see them continue to do well.
Division 2 Champions – Leeds Gryphons – University of Leeds
Leeds was coming off a 6th place division 3 placement in Winter, however in Spring they made a big step to end up winning Division 2. Sporting a range of impressive wins over the season UoN Archers, You Shall Not Bath and Warwick Sketchyboiz. Leeds Gryphons is an entirely freshers team and in their 2 seasons in Uni CS they’ve made huge improvements.
Zhuofan “Fiber” Tang has been instrumental to the team’s success, a crazily strong mechanical player and was best player for Leeds this split. Fiber had an incredible performance in the Div 2 finals dropping 45 kills on his first time ever playing Nuke, not even knowing about vents. Lucas “ookey” Hockley is a worrying character, after somehow logging over 100 hours in Among Us, but has been a key part of the team with a strong 1.11 rating in Division 2 and leading the team to their successes. Jack “jkr” Rogers is one of the highest rated players on the team with a 1.13 rating, seemingly being addicted to HE grenades, throwing an astronomical 116 HE’s. Ryan “Rand” Gill is the highest rated player on the team with a 1.26 rating, famed for 1.5k hours of CS in a single year and having the best opinions on the cs map pool. Kieran “krN” Walker rounds out the roster and is the utility nerd of the team.
One of the few sole fresher teams in the tournament and have made significant improvements.
Division 3 Champions – Bristol Baked Beens – University of Bristol
A team famed for not having a consistent roster and in 7 weeks managed to achieve more knife damage to teammates than their enemies. Ben “Chow” Mitchell is a continual crouch spammer ,however has been a pivotal player in their success, achieving a 1.31 rating over this season. He is joined by Adi “WolD1n” Dinulescu with a similarly impressive 1.30 rating, but similarly to Chow, doesn’t seem to know what flashbangs are, with both only throwing 10% of the flashes compared to their teammates. Will “kyte” Beamish joins Loughborough’s Quoting in being a successful map maker and has the best record on the team for holding down sites. Adrian “adrog” Wise is the teams utility freak , throwing nearly half of all the nades on the team but still having an impressive positive rating and being one of the few players to get a jump kill this split. Nick “Cherkii” Cerca is a fresher who rounds out the roster, having the highest rating on the team during qualification with a 1.33 rating. Cherkii had a very strong season and is never afraid to take an entry duel.
Bristol definitely have all the pieces for a top team and It will be interesting to see how they progress through the season.
Final Words
I hope everyone enjoyed the season and the finale is now set for 7:00pm Sunday the 24th April where the champion will be decided. It's set to be a thriller, with the potential of Hanno getting a positive rating and Rush BEE’s chance to debut their skill on LAN.
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