sport
Croydon Prime Defeats Belfast Met to Retain LoL National Championship Title
The Croydon College esports squad defended its student title with a grand-final win over Belfast Met Esports in Stoke this week.
How we reported this
Croydon Prime, the esports team from Croydon College, won the 2026 national students' League of Legends title by defeating Belfast Met Esports in the grand final in Stoke.
The result extended the college's run of success after it first lifted the Division 1 Championship and then the national crown in 2025. The back-to-back national victories place the squad among a small group of repeat winners in the student competition.
Course stands alone locally
Croydon College runs the only Esports BTEC qualification available at any nearby further-education provider. Students on the course form the core of Croydon Prime and receive structured coaching alongside their academic work. The programme has grown from the earlier Division 1 success into a sustained presence at national level.
Facilities upgrade still in planning
The college continues to develop plans to retrofit the sports hall at its Coulsdon Campus. Funding details for the project remain subject to further decisions, yet the existing esports provision already operates from the site. No new timeline for completion has been released.
Local colleges such as Riddlesdown Collegiate have also recorded recent team successes in other sports, underlining the breadth of competitive activity across Croydon institutions. Croydon Prime's latest result adds to that pattern of student-level achievement.
College staff expect the squad to prepare for next season's fixtures once the summer break ends, with recruitment for the BTEC course continuing through the usual channels at the Coulsdon Campus.