Do you think you have what it takes to be crowned a Champion of University Siege? This week sees Rainbow 6 Siege return to the spotlight of University Esports as teams across the UK converge for NSE’s Summer Championship. Will we see a new contender amongst the familiar clashes of age old rivalries?
While this season may be short, lasting a total of only five weeks, we expect fierce competition as the best teams in University Siege once again battle it out to win the Championship and prove their worth. If you’re a student at a UK University and fancy your chances at winning the NSE Summer Championship then grab your University team and sign up here. Hurry, though - sign ups end at midnight tonight!
Competing as a player in the tournaments is not the only way to get involved in the Rainbow 6 Siege Esports scene: If you’ve ever fancied working behind the scenes in one of the various production roles involved in producing an Esports Livestream then here’s your opportunity to give it a try: The University Siege League (USL) is looking for student talent to help produce our weekly livestreams of the NSE Summer Championship. We’re proud to have provided a platform for amateur talent to gain the necessary training, experience and recognition needed to further themselves in the industry. If this is something you’d be interested in then make sure you join the USL Discord server to keep up with upcoming announcements!
NSE’s Spring Championship saw magnificent plays and many unexpected upsets as former underdogs established themselves as serious contenders for the Championship title. This season is expected to be equally as unpredictable and exciting and we hope to bring you as much of the action as possible in our weekly livestreams over on the USL Twitch page. Join us at 7pm BST this Thursday for the opening round of the Swiss stages.
Meanwhile, to quench your thirst for what’s to come: If you didn’t manage to catch the nail biting finale of the NSE Spring Championship between the Universities of Staffordshire and Lancaster then we’d strongly recommend you check out the vod here. For those of you looking for a quicker summary, here is the breakdown:
With high expectations for the Lancaster side following their decisive 14-1 semi-final victory over Derby, the best of three finals against Staffordshire started with Clubhouse. Delivering a convincing 5-1 performance over their defensive half, Lancaster looked poised to give us another dominating series. Staffordshire’s defence, however, was not one to be underestimated as they won four consecutive map-point rounds to equalise the score and send us into overtime, where Lancaster finally managed to break the Staffordshire defence to take the first map 8-7.
Our second map of the series took us to Coastline, considered the most attacker favoured map in the competitive map pool. Having found previous success on the map against the Winter Season’s Champions of Coventry, it was no surprise to see Staffordshire take an early and decisive lead over the Lancaster side as they won four of their attacking rounds. Lancaster continued to drop rounds as they struggled to find their feet in their attacking half before recovering from the brink of defeat to win four consecutive map-point rounds to take us to our second overtime of the series. Their hopes to end the Finals outright was cut short, however, as Staffordshire finally managed to turn the tides to win Coastline 8-6 and take us to our deciding map.
Nearly three months after its start, the entirety of the Spring Championship culminated in the deciding map of this intense Grand Final: Kafe Dostoyevsky. As one of Lancaster’s favourite maps, it was unsurprising to see them pick up an early lead in their defensive half. Staffordshire had evidently done their homework, though, as they picked apart Lancaster’s defensive strategies over the next few rounds to equalise the first half of the map.
With Lancaster now firmly on the back foot heading into their attacking half, Staffordshire’s homework was increasingly paying off as they won their first three defensive rounds to take themselves to match point and tighten their grip on the Championship Title. But Lancaster was not done yet: They continued to claw their way back into the game in an attempt to take us to our third overtime. It would take until the very last round of regulation for Staffordshire to finally subdue their opponents and win the series; a series which took 41 of the maximum 45 rounds possible over three maps.
Staffordshire’s narrow victory over Lancaster will see them return to the peak of University Siege after the graduation of several of their star players saw a slump in the team’s performance. Their new roster will hope to defend their title this Summer to create a similarly impressive legacy as their former team, which managed to win three back-to-back Championships.
For Lancaster, however, their defeat will come as another narrowly missed opportunity to win a Championship Title as they once again have to settle for second place. Will the Summer Championship see Staffordshire build a new legacy? Will Lancaster finally win their first NSE title? Or will a new contender shake the competition? Only time will tell!
