Alva Valorant Wheel Tournament - Winter Season

'Alva Alliance Valorant Wheel' Esports Tournament

On the final day of half-term, we participated in the Alva Alliance Valorant Wheel Esports Tournament. This was our school’s debut in this highly competitive annual event, and it was an exhilarating ride from start to finish.

Unlike typical esports tournaments that might span several days, the Alva Alliance Valorant Wheel Tournament packed all the action into a single day. Ihor took the reins and led the team to a phenomenal performance. We finished as runners-up in this multi-team tournament, which featured colleges from Scotland, Gloucester, Devon, and beyond. One major part of the excitement was being live-streamed in a broadcast that reached hundreds of people nationwide.

The One-Day Format of the Esports Tournament

The “wheel” aspect of the esports tournament added a layer of unpredictability that ultimately cost us first place. The conditions of each round were randomised, meaning Captain Ihor had to develop a new strategy each time, often with under 10 seconds to think about it. Naturally, he shone under the extreme pressure, firing out tactics and orders calmly and quickly. In-game, he was easily the player of the tournament: fast, decisive, a tactical mastermind, always enabling the team to play to their strengths. Yet I had the distinct impression that he never even got out of second gear. We lost by a single round, out of the 60 we played—unfortunate, but those are the fine margins by which the game is played.

Streaming the Esports Tournament to a National Audience

You can watch the footage of our final match of the tournament at this link: 24-Hour Charity Stream For Macmillan Cancer Support on Twitch (our bit starts roughly 5 hours and 22 minutes in though, to be honest, they'd been talking about us since the first game). I've been accused, quite reasonably, of being overly complimentary of our team's ability and performance in the past. With that in mind, I'm not going to say a single thing about how the team performed in-game.

Instead, I’ll let the commentary team, who were working for a different school, do the talking. I won’t even include my favourite moment—when we played so well that the commentators forgot momentarily we were a college and assumed we were from a university—but here are some select quotes from the stream:

  • "Even without their fearless leader, [Q-Esports] keep it cool, calm and collected."
  • "Q-Esports just know how to hold their ground, they commit, they flush enemies out, they do everything so well, really."
  • "Ihor gets in close, very close, oh my goodness! The confidence on this person. He has a point to prove. I'm just going to leave the camera on him, I don't know why I'd ever move it away." (at this point, the other commentator states, "well I'm on Ihor, I don't know why you're not.")
  • "I think I might see if Ihor's available to carry our team, after this tournament" (I sent them a very nice message in reply to this which simply stated "hands off".)
  • "Hannah... Hannah absolutely dominates, and she's picked through four of them already. She's taken down, and Ihor finishes. Classic. It's just what he does."
  • "Q-Esports are so incredibly aggressive." "I'd call it confidence. They know."
  • "Chris has clearly heard us talking about Ihor. 'Hold my drink, I'm coming in; I don't want the whole stream to be about Ihor, look at what I can do!'"
  • "James in a one-and-done position, ends up getting three. That should not be happening. Outstanding."
  • "I saw it in Hannah's eyes, she decided she was going to win that round."
  • "[in the lead-up to the final round] The team performance from Q-Esports in this game has been huge. It's not been all Ihor, Hannah's been superb, James has had some great moments, Chris has been scoring points when they've needed it and Joshua has been fantastic under pressure. [The round starts] And here's Chris, oh, straight in, he clearly just wants to prove they are who they say they are... The enemy tries to push but Hannah doesn't let them, and they win immediately. What a fantastic way to end."
Ihor playing in the esports tournament.
"You have to have someone like Ihor on an Esports tournament team. It's good for morale, and hey, it's free wins."

The Team Reflect on the Esports Tournament

Competing in the Alva Alliance Valorant Wheel Tournament was an unforgettable experience. From the intense gameplay and strategic challenges to the live-streamed thrill of performing for a national audience, every aspect of this esports tournament pushed our team to new heights. It was an honour to represent our school and show what we’re capable of on such a prominent stage. 

What a great, great day to be a part of this wonderful team.


We’re always excited to welcome new players to our Q-Esports team! If you’re interested in joining, come meet us at our next Open Day or book a private tour of the QE Faculty. Fill out the contact form to learn more.