University of Warwick to host UK’s first in-person Typing Tournament
The Warwick Esports Typing Championship finals will be hosted out of Warwick Uni’s esports centre
Warwick Esports will be hosting a competitive speed-typing tournament, with a UK-first live finals, out of the University of Warwick’s new Esports Centre on Saturday the 29th of January. The tournament will bring together the best typists from across the UK (with some competitors even making their way all the way from the US) and will feature casting/commentary from several prominent and up and coming UK esports casters and hosts.
The event will feature prizing for audience members on top of the competitors, on top of complementary pizza and the opportunity for spectators to watch and interact with the fastest typists in the country.
The online qualifiers for the event ran from the 17th of December to the 7th of January, with the top 24 out of more than 100 prospective competitors progressing to the live finals.
Emre, the founder of the tournament and a student at the University of Warwick expressed how he had always been a competitive typist (yes, they exist!) and that he wanted to give back to the community and help it grow.
“I think what’s great about competitive typing is that it’s incredibly accessible; everyone has typed before but equally everyone knows how hard it is to type quickly and accurately. Anyone can watch this and immediately appreciate how skilled these players are, which isn’t always the case with esports.”
Cameron "GNiK" Touchette, founder of Keyma.sh, an online multiplayer competitive typing platform and the software and platform partner of the tournament, shared the excitement he felt when approached about this tournament.
“I love esports, I love typing, and the main origin of Keyma.sh was to bring esports to typing and Warwick Esports is the first to actually make that big step, which is always exciting.
The last time I can recall there ever being an in-person finals for typing would be the Ultimate Typing Championship 2010, where Sean Wrona won. There was also the Cincy Typing Championship in 2013, which I believe was won by Robert Price. So looking at those results, we’re at least 8 years from the last event, so it helps put typing esports on the map again. This event alone could be good inspiration for other events to do more in-person tournaments, which would be amazing to see.”
Jack Fenton, Head of Esports at the University of Warwick, shared his thoughts on the tournament.
“The Typing Championship is an event that will be truly one of a kind, even for the skilled typists that compete in the local area, on top of being a unique opportunity for the general public to get involved in esports. That’s what makes it so special. We’ve been keen to host an event outside of your usual esports candidates for a while and this is a perfect opportunity for the Warwick to celebrate what many would consider a simple but yet undeniably exceptional skill: speed typing.”
Commenting on plans for the in-person finals, Jack said
“hosting this in the Centre will be incredible and the Esports Society’s broadcast team have learnt so much in 2021 and I can’t wait to see them apply it to this event to create a truly premium experience for everyone. I hope that campus fully embraces the uniquely awe-inspiring event that this is bound to be.” ”
If anyone wants to attend the event, they can obtain their free ticket here.
