Second year Computer Games Development BSc student Alex Hapgood has been awarded first prize in the British Computer Society (BCS) open competition 2021 for the second year in a row.
Alex Hapgood and runner up Mustafe Ahmed, who is a first-year student from the Computer Games Development BSc course, competed in the open competition on Animation and Games Development Specialist Group (SG’s) Esports, which required them to send in an interesting and entertaining commentary of playing or spectating any video game. Alex narrated League of Legends, whilst Mustafe commented on Apex Legends Global Series (ALGS). Both Alex and Mustafe will receive a certificate and engraved medal as part of their prize.
Discussing his second consecutive win, Alex Hapgood said: “Coming to Westminster University has given me so many opportunities to discover things I had always wanted to explore but never had the confidence or time to do. One of those things was esports commentary, or shoutcasting, which I'm now incredibly proud to have been awarded the BCS Student Esports Commentary Award for the 2nd year in a row.
“Casting has been an incredible journey for me, to the point where I now see it as a viable career choice - from casting the UK's top tier esports competition in the UKLC, and above that still in the NLC and EUMasters and being mentioned as an Expert on Riot Games' MSI broadcast to hundreds of thousands of viewers - it's been an avenue not just for professional success but a way to meet friends and increase my appreciation for the games I've loved growing up too.”
The judging panel also commented on Alex’s entry, stating that: “[It was] a very professional commentary with a great balance of enthusiasm and detail. It was a pure flow delivered with great understanding of the fast-paced action.”
Second place winner Mustafe also commented on his win, and said: “I was very excited to get runner up in the competition. I have a love for the entire Esports scene and how players use the game to the absolute max. Gaming is a great passion of mine, so receiving this award is a great feeling.”
Speaking about the importance of the students’ success, Markos Mentzelopoulos, Course Leader of the BSc Computer Games Development BSc, said: “British Computer Society accreditation is an important benchmark of our programme’s standard in providing high-quality computing education and our commitment to developing future IT professionals. BCS competitions provide an enriching and stimulating environment where our students have the opportunity to showcase their talent in software development. Our success stories are testament of our graduates’ abilities and their readiness for employment.”
With the support of the Tranzfuser UK program, several 2021 graduates of the Computer Games Development course have secured jobs in a variety of fields such as software developing and game programming as part of the Games enterprise.
Find out more about Computer Science and Engineering courses at the University of Westminster.
