Sligo Rovers emerged victorious last night at the 3Arena and were crowned the inaugural Three Ireland’s EStars Champions. Sligo Rovers beat their fellow League of Ireland rivals, Shamrock Rovers, in a different sort of match that their supporters would normally come to expect. Instead of footballs, goals and a grass pitch, S. Rovers got one over their closest adversaries in League of Legends, a five-on-five action computer game that’s focused around territory control, strategy and lots of heavy artillery action.
After eight weeks of intense competitive gaming, which took place across the country, ten teams comprising fifty of Ireland’s most talented League of Legends players battled it out to finally win the incredible prize of €20,000 and a trip to Las Vegas. A phenomenal crowd was on hand last night at the 3Arena to witness the high-octane esports drama that comes with top-level competitive gaming on a scale that has never been seen before in this country.
Sligo Rovers who won the decisive final 2-0, in a best of the three decider, was represented by Team Captain, Kevin Treanor, Darren Hopkins, Robert Cooney, Johnny Cummins and Viktor Kudrickij. When the pressure counted most, these five players all displayed an unbelievable focus on the evening and demonstrated a special level of gamesmanship over the course of the season, which saw them emerge as worthy champions of Ireland’s premier esports tournament.
In addition to the exciting esports finale, spectators were treated to a host of stars from the world of sport, music, and Youtube. Additional entertainment was provided by the football maestros F2 Freestylers and dance sensations Prodijig. Some of YouTube’s most influential streamers, including Sjin and Turps from the Yogscast, RossBoomsocks, Rezone Games and Gross Gore were also at the 3Arena to meet and greet their passionate fans. However, it’s without a doubt that the greatest excitement and draw of the evening was the thrilling world of live esports gaming and the outcome of the Three Ireland’s EStars league.
Mags Byrne of Three Ireland’s EStars explained that the Finals at the 3Arena was a fitting finale to the ambitious and gripping league. “Congratulations to Sligo Rovers and their players on being crowned the champions of the first ever Three Ireland’s EStars. The scale of this spectacular final and the unbelievable extravaganza that surrounded the exciting finale was a true celebration and a testament to the exponential growth of esports in Ireland. It was a fitting climax to what has been an incredible journey with the support of our fantastic tournament sponsors”
Karl Donnelly, Head of Sponsorship, Three Ireland said, “We were delighted to have been involved with Ireland’s biggest esports tournament which was a truly unique experience. On behalf of Three, we would like to congratulate Sligo Rovers and we wish them well in Las Vegas. Our own team, Team Three, a team of our customers who registered through our loyalty programme 3plus, were unlucky not to make the finals but the interest that was shown was incredible. At Three we are committed to enhancing the lives of our customers by continuing to provide the latest technology innovations which, in addition to our All You Can Eat Data offering, enables our customers to make it count”.
For anyone who was lucky enough to attend the event let us know in the comments below how it was for you and be sure to send any pictures, you got with the cosplayers from Guild of Nerds who were on hand with their impressive cosplays.
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