From a young age, Connor ‘Faizye’ Chittock was enamoured by the world of Esports.
Going from competitive Minecraft to Fortnite in 2019, Chittock quickly soared in the console player rankings, placing in the top 100s in multiple servers from North America to the Middle East and Oceania.
Chittock’s home servers, however, are in the United Kingdom.
Joining York College in York, England, in 2023, Chittock jumped headfirst into a degree in Esports: Business & Digital Innovation. He moved from a competitive standpoint into that of a manager, starting the York Vikings’ first Rocket League team. What started as a small team of inexperienced, but passionate, players grew into a competitive force, competing in LANs across Britain and gaining their first trophies and podium finishes. These top eight and third place trophies would eventually amount into a British Esports regional win in the 2024-25 season.
After finishing his education at York in 2025, Chittock joined European Esports team S.E.A Dragons, starting a Rocket League team that is gaining dominance in the international Rocket League space. Chittock also has worked with Opall Esports and Team Endpoint, managing more teams in Rocket League and growing the United Kingdom esports scene.
College Esports News sat down with Chittock to learn how collegiate esports functions across the pond from the North American scene and the direction that the scene is taking in the UK.
Collegiate and Professional Esports in EMEA
EMEA esports (Europe, Middle East, and Africa) has grown in strength and prominence in recent years, with powerful teams rising up and making a name for themselves in top ranks with other regions.
However, unlike the North American scene, EMEA is not yet beginning to hybridize with the collegiate landscape.
Publisher-backed CRL, for example, Chittock points out, officially recognizes collegiate Rocket League in North America. While student tournaments and leagues exist in the UK, the publisher and competitive scene has not adopted it in the same manner. While there has been support in the past with UniRocketeers and CRL Worlds 2022-23, recent years have not seen the same involvement. (Recently, UniRocketeers started to fundraise for a prize pool for their Spring 2026 season.)
Opportunities for competitive players are not lacking though, as many large scale LANs such as DreamHack and major titles such as Counter Strike break into the European space. Within this sphere, there is more opportunity for the scene to grow in the UK.
The British Esports Federation, established in 2016, is “focused on developing grassroots esports, cutting edge curriculum and career pathways” and operates the British Esports Student Champs series, “a tournament for students aged 12+ and open to all secondary schools, further education colleges and alternative provision schools across the United Kingdom.”
“The demand for even more is there, I feel like the right people just need to get together and make a plan, especially England Gaming,” said Chittock.
With these new doors are new opportunities for growth and change in UK esports.
Chittock notes that stronger management is a necessity to the perpetuation of the esports scene in the UK as well as the growth of collegiate tournaments:
“As hinted at and whilst not focused towards just collegiate level, I feel like in the next couple of years an English-focused league must happen, that’s a non-negotiable, otherwise we as a nation will fall behind everyone around us [and] Europe in general.”
Chittock says that with more growth in specifically the English scene, collegiate opportunities will follow. At the moment, this is not feasible due to the small scale of the English focused-scene as well as a lack of prize pools to draw competitors.
What’s Next for Esports in the UK?
North American esports has had its fair share of growing pains on its way to ecosystem success, and the UK is no different.
There is an appetite for a collegiate scene that is beginning to explode in Britain, beginning with the arrival of different major tournaments hosting UK and London-based major events. Additionally, many more collegiate programs are starting, creating a pipeline for future professionals and competitions.
Another major growth opportunity exists in esports teams working with FC programs in the UK.
North American esports fans might be familiar with NBA2K or NHL leagues, where teams play in popular sports game titles as specific teams (ex. Wizards Gaming competing alongside the Washington Wizards). In the UK, where football is king, FC programs are beginning to partner with scholastic programs to bring a unity of esports to the mainstream sports landscape, particularly with Manchester Esports and Blackpool Esports.
Additionally, the UK has also seen the arrival of the University Campus of Esports in Stratford that provides a college environment dedicated to the study of esports, management, and business. And recently, British Esports inked a partnership with Loughborough University “to elevate esports performance” at their university.
Overall Conclusions
English esports are on the rise, bringing about large-scale growth for not only the professional sphere but collegiate teams as well.
Chittock’s experience in watching the scene grow from competitive Minecraft to the growth of major esports teams in the region is proof of the growth of the scene. Major changes are on the horizon, and students are stepping up to make the waves.
