Manchester Swarm have won the inaugural GAME Belong Arena Clash Call of Duty tournament.
They beat the Bristol Smugglers 3-1 in the final today. Swarm took the first Hardpoint BO3, then Bristol took S&D BO3, then Swarm took Uplink and Hardpoint.
While Swarm won the final, they have prior commitments to teams at the Call of Duty World League in Birmingham. So they win a PS4 Pro, Scuff controller each and a share of £500.
This means that runners-up Bristol Smugglers have secured the all-expenses-paid spot at the Call of Duty World League in Birmingham, taking place at Insomnia60 later this month. This includes entry to the tournament, accommodation and travel.
Manchester Swarm (above) beat the Bristol Smugglers (below) 3-1
The final standings
The London Lionhearts and MK Enigmas didn’t take part in this tournament but should be up and running soon.
Elsewhere, GAME Belong revealed the new Cardiff Saints and Colchester Centurions tribes.
WE ARE CARDIFF SAINTS!!! Doors will be open from 11am! Let’s play some games! #BelongByGAME??pic.twitter.com/iOY3hDkm6U
— BelongCardiff (@BelongCRDF) April 8, 2017
Are you ready to be a Centurion?! ?#ColchesterCenturions#BelongByGamepic.twitter.com/E5YPHZ9RvZ
— Belong Colchester (@BelongColchestr) March 25, 2017
The Arena Clash summer season is now on the horizon, which is expected to be bigger than the spring season – and expand beyond Call of Duty into other competitive games.
Caster comment
We spoke to caster John Pritchard about the finals.
“I have nothing but positive comments in regards to the Arena Clash finals,” he said.
“Everything from the scheduling and structure to the production was top tier, not to mention the venue we played in! The two teams showed up and gave solid performances throughout, at one point I was not sure who was going to take the series, it was honestly back and forth throughout, with Manchester just coming out on top.
“Will we see a season 2 of Arena Clash? I have no idea but if the Arena Clash does run again for a second season, i would love to be involved in some way. Prior to this event I had cast one previous LAN event, which was HEX LAN late last year at The Belong Manchester Arena, as well as making regular appearances on TheEsportsHub and Female Pro League (FPL).
“The two teams showed up and gave solid performances throughout.”
“I also had the oportunity to work with GinxTV covering last years CoD XP event. It was a real surprise when GAME reached out and wanted me to cast the event, and having a great caster like Chris (Stealth) to work alongside, and with his experience it definitely took the pressure off of me.
“I just want to say a huge thanks to the guys for putting the trust in me to get the job done. In regards to my future as a caster or analyst and what exit routes I can take from here, it’s very much about me continuing to prove I’ve got what it takes to work alongside the best. If anything, this event has motivated me even more and given me the hunger to continue to prove my worth!”
Dom is an award-winning writer and finalist of the Esports Journalist of the Year 2023 award. He graduated from Bournemouth University with a 2:1 degree in Multi-Media Journalism in 2007.
As a long-time gamer having first picked up the NES controller in the late ’80s, he has written for a range of publications including GamesTM, Nintendo Official Magazine, industry publication MCV and others. He worked as head of content for the British Esports Federation up until February 2021, when he stepped back to work full-time on Esports News UK and offer esports consultancy and freelance services. Note: Dom still produces the British Esports newsletter on a freelance basis, so our coverage of British Esports is always kept simple – usually just covering the occasional press release – because of this conflict of interest.
