eSports Preview: Table-Topping Clash

Argyle’s fledgling eSports team face the biggest night in their relatively short history on Thursday, taking on Virtual Pro Gaming (VPG) English Premier leaders Oxford United at 8pm.

The Greens are in second place in the division, just one goal behind the U’s, following a thumping 5-1 win over Cardiff City on Tuesday night.

“Oxford are a good team – they’ve been around for plenty of seasons and changed management a couple of times,” said Ben Taylor, Argyle eSports manager. “From what I have seen, they’re a very good team, doing well in their league. They absolutely destroyed Bristol Rovers the other night, so we have to be wary of them.”

Oxford play their regular competitive games a league higher than Argyle, and currently sit fourth in the Championship North. The Greens will not be fazed by this, though, having already beaten another Championship side, Tranmere Rovers, on their English Premier debut.

Taylor said: “I’m confident because I feel that we can produce a high level of performance. If we get near the Tranmere and Cardiff games in terms of performance, we can take points. We need to stay calm, stick to our style, and not panic. If we do that, I think we can get a result.”

The table-topping clash with Oxford United is just one of three massive games the Pilgrims will participate in on Thursday night – with two crucial fixtures occurring in VPG League One South – where Argyle have not given up hope on a late promotion charge.

With the top three sides gaining promotion to the Championship, the Pilgrims currently occupy seventh position – 10 points behind third place with 12 games to go. It might seem like too big of a gap to bridge, but Taylor's side can reel in Bestou WS, in the final promotion spot, with a win over them on Thursday.

He said: “It’s an important night, really. If we don’t take the results tonight, it’ll be damaging, and we’ll probably miss out on promotion. If we win tonight, we stay in the race.”

Argyle kick-off against Oxford United in the English Premier at 8pm, before a League One South double-header against Bestou WS (8.45pm) and Intique eSport (9.15pm). All three games will be available to stream live on our Facebook and Twitch channels.