eSports Preview: Green Shoots

ARGYLE eSports manager Ben Taylor has experienced a range of emotions since taking charge in the Pilgrims’ inaugural VPG League One South campaign.

A dreadful start to the Greens’ campaign left them bottom of the league table this time last week, with not a single point to show from their opening five fixtures.

However, two wins from their last three fixtures, including an eye-catching 2-1 victory over previously unbeaten Fearless eSports, has given the group renewed enthusiasm ahead of another tough fixture against eSports Viking’s Slayers on Monday night.

Taylor said: “Even though we’ve lost a few games at the start of the season, it’s there to see that we can beat anyone. As I’ve said before, it’s not down to the first six or seven games, it’s a 30-game season. The opportunities are there.”

The Greens secured their first competitive points with an emphatic 3-1 victory over Green Line on Tuesday night, which sent them into Thursday’s double-header against Cardiff City eSports, a team they beat handily in pre-season, and Fearless eSports, in good spirits.

Taylor’s side dominated the Bluebirds, but could not convert their chances, losing 1-0. However, their outstanding response against Fearless gives the group some much-needed confidence as they seek to propel themselves up the League One South table.

“We were frustrated not to have won both games. First game [against Cardiff], we couldn’t take the chances, and then they hit us with a sucker-punch, and we couldn’t get back into the game.”

“Going into the next game, we knew from the start that we could beat them, and we executed well. Tonight, we play another good team, another team that has started the season very well. We will be looking to replicate the performance that we managed against Fearless.”

“When we went into last week, we had a discussion about which games we should be picking points up in. We rallied round, and the mood is a bit better in the camp. Hopefully we can use this platform to push on.”

After a tumultuous start to the campaign, Taylor believes that a settled squad, alongside consistent tactics, will be the key to further progress – and he has not given up hope of promotion charge during the second-half of the season.

Taylor said: “We’re looking sharp in the formation that we’re using at the moment, so we are going to stick with that tonight. Hopefully, we can get another three points, which will lift us higher up the league.”

“I think we can still, hopefully, get towards the top three if we carry on winning games. It’s only early on, so there’s still plenty of games to play. There’s every chance that we can push on now.”

Argyle eSports kick-off against eSports Viking’s Slayers at 9pm – and the games will be streamed live on both our Facebook and Twitch channels.