University of Chichester have been selected as the Pot Noodle Society of the Month for the contributions of their society members to building and running the Jalta League! We spoke to some of the students behind Jalta League, Josh, Luca, Alfie and Jude, to find out more about their work.
First of all, congratulations on winning Society of the Month for March! For those who don't know, could you tell us what the Jalta League is all about and how it got started?
Luca: The Jalta League is a grassroots FGC tournament organisation that has managed to build up a pretty good reputation over the last 2 years, which has attracted some of best players from the UK and Ireland to compete in our tournaments. Even with the high calibre of talent we have, the Jalta League's core value is community. No matter how new you are to fighting games or how much experience you have, we welcome every member with opens arms. As an admin I can gladly say that our community has always been outstanding when it comes to helping each other and reciprocation. There’s always been a high level of respect and honour in the FGC, these are the principles the Jalta League is built upon.
The Jalta League was formed back in October 2023, it was originally created for a group assignment on the BA (Hons) Esports course at the University of Chichester. The term ‘Jalta’ was actually an anagram for the original 5 members of the group being first letters of each of our names. The first game we did was Rocket League, but this was kind of the icebreaker of us getting used to working with each other. We then managed to get Street Fighter 6 as our game of choice for the second semester which was well-received by the group members as we are huge fighting game fans. Things started off slow at first for us but as we progressed through the semester, we started to become more popular. We then realized at the beginning of the 2024 summer that the Jalta League could go somewhere. Our individual roles emerged naturally, with my existing ties with the FGC I took on the role of player recruitment and casting. Alfie focused on graphics and co-commentary, Toby governed the production and Josh sourced music for our online events. We gelled incredibly well and gained a lot of traction over the summer break with the inclusion of our newest member Jude who has helps us considerably take the Jalta League to the next level.
Amazing! It's great to see such a space dedicated to the FGC. You mentioned Street Fight 6 - are there other games you cater for as well, or perhaps any games you're looking to expand your reach to in the future?
Luca: We’ve adopted a diverse approach with the Jalta league. We facilitate multiple fighting game titles such as Street Fighter 6, Guilty Gear, Tekken and most recently Grandblue Fantasy. There’s also a lot of excitement around 2XKO in the Jalta community right now. With that being said, we accommodate many different fighting games and genres in our discord server, there’s something for everyone and opportunities to meet new people with shared passions.
Something for everyone then! If you guys had to pick a favourite memory from your time working on the Jalta League, what would it be?
Luca: I’m sure everyone else has different favourite memories, but for me it was the 2024 Summer League we put on. Alfie, Jude and myself ran fighting game tournaments for 10 weeks, streaming various titles on a regular basis. Mondays were SF6, Wednesdays were Tekken 8 and Fridays where Guilty Gear Strive. These few months is when the Jalta League started to become more prevalent, we gained so much momentum, tripling our numbers from the league we ran in our second semester. Our hard work was paying off, and we’ve seen a steady, consistent increase in popularity.
Josh: One of my favourite memories from the Jalta League was the moment we received our first piece of merchandise. It was a huge milestone not just for me, but for the entire team cementing our brand and making it visible for everyone to see. This excitement led to another unforgettable moment: our on-campus photoshoot. The weather was perfect, the sun was shining, and each member proudly posed in their own uniquely coloured hoodie, capturing the spirit of our league in a way that felt truly special.
Alfie: I'd agree with Luca, the Summer League was an incredibly busy yet rewarding time. Prior to this, we used the streaming room courtesy of our university to run our livestreams, however, this was not available in summer time. Despite this setback, we created a streaming setup in our living room and proceeded to stream 3 tournaments a week from there. These consistent tournaments led to some great storylines among our players, and this all culminated to our final week where the pressure was high and bragging rights were at stake.
Jude: I think my favourite time for the Jalta League was through summer league too , the motivation on growing a brand and supporting a community without it being a part of a university module felt so real and genuine and proving to ourselves that we have the capability of doing so online and away from each other and also in our living room was a real eye opener on the effort needed to create something we all enjoyed.
As Pot Noodle Society of the Month winners for March, what's been your favourite moment in this month?
Luca: My favourite moment in March was Tournament we have been running leading up to the live event. We had some incredible feats of skill and gameplay during the stream, it was mesmerizing to watch. These clips were shared across various social networks, with some garnering 50000+ views each. It was such a pleasant surprise to see those kinds of numbers when we’re still in our infancy as an FGC league and really fortified that our hard work is paying off.
Alfie: March has been a great month for us. I think my favourite moment from this month would be our 24 hour fundraiser stream! It was a lot of fun hanging out with all the members of the Jalta League, playing a variety of different games, and doing IRL activities, all while interacting with our community!
Jude: During March time the 24 hour fundraiser was definitely the most fun with all members getting involved and proving to our community that we are dedicated to them. Running all the tournaments this month has been really fun too and it’s great to see the community continue to grow the more we provide for them.
It's so cool to see how much work you have all put in to grow your project from the very start! What are your plans for Jalta League for the rest of the year?
Luca: As I mentioned a bit earlier, our Street Fighter LAN event on May 13th is our main focus right now. We’ve been working toward it since October last year, we’ve secured funds, sponsors and prizes for the events to hopefully put on our best show yet. Post-LAN we are going to be hosting more tournaments to continue supporting our great community. Further down the line, we’re looking to take the Jalta League to the next level, so watch this space!
Sounds like a lot of fun! Finally - if there was a finishing move inspired by the beloved Chicken and Mushroom Pot Noodle, what would it look like?
Luca: I would use the Pot Noodle noodles as a whip, then lasso them around the person, throwing them into the air and slamming them into the ground. Whilst they're being slammed, I'll open up a Pot Noodle and start eating it as the ultimate end to the finishing move.
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