Gaming centre rescues holidaying teens' tournament dreams

Wednesday 12 August 2020

A family from Surrey has praised a local gaming centre for opening its doors to allow two wifi-deprived teens aiming for professional success to compete in an online tournament while on holiday.

Ed Peck, co-founder of Esports.Je, allowed Jonas (12) and Matthew (13) in to play despite being currently closed due to the pandemic.

The teenage boys are both into online gaming, especially Matthew who competes in tournaments on Fortnite and is working towards earning money through them.

The boys, who live in Surrey, frequently visit the island with their parents and were recently on holiday here.

“We like coming to Jersey for the quiet cycling lanes, quiet beaches, lovely weather and the honesty boxes!” Clare, their mum, said.

“We enjoy cycling around the island on our road bikes - doing our own Tour de Jersey!), going to the beaches and eating loads of Jersey food!”

Pictured: The Slack family frequently visits Jersey.

During their latest holiday, the family stayed in a “fantastic” house but to the boys’ dismay it didn’t have a wifi-connection.

“I normally compete in competitions and end in the top percentiles, so when I found that we had to miss all my 'tourneys' to come here it made me very upset,” Matthew said.

However, thanks to his mum’s efforts and the generosity of some islanders, the boys were able to have some gaming breaks.

“In order to create balance between teenage needs (wifi) and holiday needs (cycling, beaches, food!) I started to look for a place where my son could game on specific days where there was a tournament,” Clare said.

Having enlisted the help of her friend Sheena Brockie, Clare's search eventually saw her land on a Facebook group called 'Game Consoles accessories and games Jersey'.

Pictured: It's through Facebook that Clare first heard of Esports.je.

“I don't think I was quite their demographic, but I joined the site and asked for some help,” she said. “Almost immediately, I received messages back with help and telling me about 'Esports.JE'.”

Based on Great Union Street, Esports JE is a gaming centre which regularly hosts local competitions and tournaments.

While it is currently closed due to the current restrictions around covid-19, Ed agreed to let the family rent the venue when they needed it.

“Ed has been absolutely amazing with the boys and even helping me with some IT queries!” Clare said.

“He runs a really cool and nice centre for gaming,” Matthew added.

“He said he would be fine to arrange for me to play some days when possible, so he gave us the address and when we went on the day it blew us away.

Pictured: The gaming centre is based on Great Union Road.

“Inside of a nice air conditioned room where 12 Pcs and keyboard and mouse were waiting. Not only did it help me a lot it had some of the fastest speeds on the planet, it is a super good place to go with mates and socialise with a really nice person.

“So if you are a gamer be sure to get in touch with Ed because his place will blow you away!

“Ed is a really nice person who understands gaming completely and needs more recognition for his great place.”

Overall, the Slack family all enjoyed their Jersey holiday and thanked “all the super helpful Jersey people” - especially Sheena and Ed - for their assistance.

“Apart from taking the precautions required by the Jersey government, our holiday has been delightful as usual,” Clare said.

“We have had some great cycle rides, have eaten too many oysters and ice cream and our shoes are full of sand from the beaches and the kids are delighted with the balance we have managed to create between this and gaming. This would not have been possible without Ed from Esports.Je.”