Coventry students raise money for charity by hosting esports tournament

A Coventry gamer has raised money for charity after hosting an esports tournament with top players from across the country.

Coventry College Architecture student Arvin Lavina, 17, has helped to raise almost £500 for charity after teaming up with Coventry Crosshairs – the college’s esports team – to host the Gigabit Cup.

The two-day event, supported by internet service provider Gigabit Networks, saw 60 players across 12 teams compete in a Valorant tournament – with the winners having the chance to donate their prize money to a charity of their choice.

Filip Krause and Marcel Kajut, who are both Esports students at Coventry College and Coventry Crosshairs team members, also supported the production of the event, with other volunteers from UK colleges helping to manage the live stream and create digital branding assets.

Valorant, a tactical first-person shooter, is one of the most popular games in team esports. Despite being keen players, the Crosshairs trio handed the controls over to teams from across the country to compete, using the opportunity to gain behind-the-scenes experience hosting their own event.

“Burnley Bees” won the tournament, beating “Sleepiest Warriors” in the finals, and chose to donate the money to RSPCA

Arvin, who was also one of the MCs for the event and hosted under his gaming pseudonym Misio, said: “The event was incredible. From production to the participants to the viewers, everyone was so engaged and hyped to watch the teams play Valorant.

“I loved how it panned out. Raising £500 for charity is a brilliant feeling and I really can’t thank everyone enough for playing a part in this huge project.”

Marcel added: “The event was a massive success. Not only were we able to reach our charity donation goal, the event also brought a big group of talented people together to create something that had a positive effect in the short term and created a standard to inspire future charity events, which will also work to the same goal of raising money for charity.

“The event has also allowed me to understand what goes into running an event of this scale and has given me valuable experience which I can use to improve. I’m more than excited for the Gigabit Cup Series 2. This was only the beginning of what the grassroot events scene can do.”

El “Eko” Wylde, who supported the Gigabit Cup with commentary and is a ‘shoutcaster’ for British Esports, said: “Arvin made sure everyone was happy, comfortable and ready for their roles at every step of the way.

“Getting so much money raised over a single weekend took a lot of planning and hard work. I wish I’d had that work ethic when I was at college!”