VUB Gaming is the revelation of the Belgian Student League: the Belgian House of HR Cup representative, the finalist in the Rocket League competition and a top contender in FIFA with EminoMercy. You could say that VUB Gaming has already had an amazing year, but they want more. They want to win and they want to win big!

VUB Gaming is a relatively new association that joined the BSL just this year. After 6 months of preparation, they launched their social networks on March 24, 2022. First and foremost, the organisation wants to be very clear: VUB Gaming is here to support all gamers at their university, whether they do it for fun or for the love of competition. If you have a passion for gaming and study at Vrije Universiteit Brussel, join VUB Gaming and become part of a great community (their official Discord).

But as we said before, VUB Gaming is no slouch! They already have some incredible players and that will only increase now that they have a dedicated team behind the association. We spoke with Absolute Zero (Luan Kanber), captain of the Rocket League team, and Tony, VUB Gaming coordinator, about the teams, their ambitions and the future of gaming and esports at VUB.

No League of Legends yet

VUB Gaming unfortunately did not submit a League of Legends squad this year. We asked Tony if that will change next year: “We have been doing our best to put together a League of Legends team over the past few months, but unfortunately we have not been able to get enough players together. At the beginning of the next academic year, plans are already on the table to promote VUB Gaming among students. In this way, we hope to send a LOL team to BSL next year.”

No Mercy at FIFA

When you have a player as renowned as EminoMercy (Keanu Newa) at your disposal, you know you are in for a good and fun ride! The 2020-2021 FIFA-champion showed no mercy in the group stage, defeating every opponent he faced. The playoffs are a different kind of competition, but we believe EminoMercy will make it to the grand final on May 8 at Kinepolis Antwerp.

This is what Tony has to say about his valuable FIFA-player: “Besides the RL team, we are very lucky to have an extremely talented player like Emino among the VUB students. The opponents in the BSL are of a very strong caliber and Emino invests a lot of time every week to stay at the top of the rankings. Despite his undefeated record in the group stage, the playoffs will certainly be a challenge.”

A new golden generation in Rocket League?

If you love Rocket League, you have to love VUB Gaming. They came, they saw and they conquered. The team has not lost a single game this season. In the playoffs, VUB Gaming has won 4-0 against AGEM Belgium and AeS ULB, two of the strongest teams in our competition. This Rocket League team is next level. Is it a new golden generation? We don’t know yet, but we are really looking forward to seeing them take on the confident UGent Esports in the finals!

VUB Gaming also became the Belgian House of HR Cup Champion and will compete against Erasmus Esports from the Netherlands on the 6th of May at the Kursaal of Ostend for the Benelux title and a prize pool of €1500. They even competed already in the international EURC. The European University Rocketeers Championship is the highest level collegiate Rocket League tournament for the EU region, so you could say VUB Gaming is doing a pretty good job in Rocket League.

Tony:” The RL team has already shown in Belgium that it belongs at the top of the rankings. It is still too early to speak of a golden generation. Every year new students come to the different schools and there is a chance that other schools can overtake us in the Belgian Student League. Our goal is to maintain our position at the top of the rankings and continue to grow as a team, so that we can better represent Belgium on the international stage. This year we have already had our first experience in the EURC and found that schools from England, but also from the Netherlands, are doing very well and are ahead of us on some levels. This gives us the motivation to keep up with them in the coming years and hopefully even surpass them.”

We expect a lot from this golden team, and are very excited to see what they will achieve in the next couple of years.

A bright Future

The future of VUB Gaming looks very promising. They have created an infrastructure where students can develop their passion for gaming at their school. VUB Gaming has a very dedicated team that wants to make a big difference in the Belgian (and maybe even European) esports scene. They have the talent, ambition and dedication to get bigger every year! They are the perfect example of how schools should introduce gaming and we support them in every way possible.

We asked Tony about his view on the future: “The VUB is a cosmopolitan university, and that is certainly an advantage. Innovative projects receive the necessary support, which opens many doors for us. Especially at the Faculty of Physical Education and Physiotherapy we receive the full support of dean Evert Zinzen. We also have the advantage that Jos Verschueren holds an Expert Class in Esports Management at the VUB. If it were up to Jos, esports would already have its own building on our campus. In other words, there is certainly no lack of support at our university. It’s only a matter of time before everyone is on board with the fast-growing phenomenon called esports.”

In season 4 of the Belgian Student League, a new, feared powerhouse was born. It goes by the name: VUB Gaming

We are excited to officially announce VUB Gaming!

📰 Read more: https://t.co/0GgwUuiZAX

📱 Follow us: https://t.co/P49vh5oGlc#VUBgaming #GoFoxes pic.twitter.com/7tG6TAuZQq

— VUB Gaming (@VUBgaming) March 24, 2022