A brand new Welsh Esports League and Welsh Community Overwatch Tournament will begin this month, as new initiatives to foster grassroots esports talent. 

Esports body Esports Wales says the league will kick off on January 16th 2023 ‘featuring some of the best esports talent in Wales’, with teams competing in a round robin format to show who’s best.

The Welsh Esports League will feature tournaments in games including Dota 2, Rainbow 6 Siege, CSGO and Tekken. Then from February 13th it will feature League of Legends, F1 Esports, Rocket League, Valorant and FIFA. 

The Welsh Community Overwatch Tournament will also begin on January 19th, with eight teams also competing in a round robin format.

The Welsh Esports League and Welsh Community Overwatch Tournament have a prize pool of over £4,500 altogether. They’ve been set up to let players showcase their skills and represent Wales on a national level. 

Esports Wales CEO John Jackson added: “Prizes differ for each game but it’s roughly £100 per player with a sub in a team, for example Dota has a £600 prize pool, Rocket League has £400. The total prize pool is just £4500. 

“Rules also differ for each game but generally, it’s a round-robin tournament where each team plays the other once, on a best-of-one [basis]. The matches for each game will be on the same night of the week for four weeks.”