This year’s F1 Esports Series Pro Championship presented by Aramco started with a bang as we were treated to three thrilling races in Event 1, with Aston Martin’s Lucas Blakeley securing his first ever F1 Esports Series victory, before reigning champion Jarno Opmeer showed he won’t give up his crown without a fight with back-to-back wins which put him and Mercedes at the top of the Drivers’ Championship and Teams’ Championship standings respectively.

Event 2 sees the drivers take on three of the most iconic circuits in motorsport, as they get ready to do battle at Silverstone and Monza on Wednesday, before attention turns to Spa on Thursday. While the Pro Championship is only a quarter of the way through, picking up points here will be crucial as teams fight to get their hands on a share of the $750,000 prize pot.

The live shows will be streamed online via official Formula 1 channels on Faceboo, YouTube, Twitch and Huya, as well as broadcast on television by select international partners including the likes of Sky, ESPN and Fox Sports, whilst Qualifying show content will be streamed exclusively on Twitch and YouTube.

Please see the table below for the full breakdown of the platform splits so you don’t miss a moment of the action this week:

Ahead of this week’s Event 2, we spoke with four drivers, all looking to build on impressive performances in Event 1, with all quotes below available for use in editorial.

Marcel Kiefer – Red Bull

“The level of competitiveness is definitely super high this year. One of the new guys that has come in Bari Boroumand is super quick and I would already rate him as one of the fastest on the grid. What he’s done in league racing and his raw pace is super fast. There are definitely a few additions to the grid that are super quick. The speed of everyone probably does mean that it is more competitive than last year.”

Lucas Blakeley – Aston Martin

“We have got a lot more things right this year from the beginning. I’ve put a lot of work in personally in the off season for months and months, not necessarily on the F1 game. I focussed on utilising every aspect that would help me to go quick and that doesn’t necessarily mean improving lines into corners. I’ve been optimising every area that I physically can and I’ve become a more complete driver.”

Sebastian Job – Alpha Tauri

“The one thing I’ve learnt is to surround yourself with people that are better than you and then you can learn from them. That’s what I’ve done coming to a new game, I’m surrounded by people that are better than me at this game and it gives me the perfect way to improve. The speed at which I’m improving is really promising and that’s because of my teammates.”

Josh Idowu – McLaren

“We’re looking very strong [heading into Event 2], in particular Bari [Boroumand] who had some crazy pace from the first Event especially in qualifying which I would say is the hardest part. Once he can get it together in the race, I would expect a lot of wins from him.”

The WePlay Collectibles non-fungible tokens hit the OpenSea marketplace.

58 teams of fierce competitors are set to battle it out in the next iteration of the groundbreaking VCT Game Changers EMEA tournament series next week – and we’ve got something very exciting to share with you all before then!

Review VCT Game Changers EMEA Series #1

With the first VCT Game Changers EMEA tournament concluded, our teams have proven they are #HERETOSLAY, – and now it’s time to show that VCT Game Changers EMEA is here to stay!

True to VCT Game Changers EMEAs goal of fostering an inclusive environment for competition and creating new opportunities for women to shine in the VALORANT esports ecosystem, an astonishing total of 49 Teams registered for the first VCT Game Changers EMEA tournament, which took place between September 27 – October 3 this year The top spot was taken by TENSTAR Nova  following a valiant fight against Rix.GG after a week long competition, with the final score standing 3:1 in favor of TENSTAR Nova

This translates to 272 players (including subs) from 36 countries in the EMEA region, with the largest number of players coming from Turkey, followed by Russia and France.

VCT Game Changers EMEA Series #1 boasted 21,933  peak viewers with over 189,000 hours watched across platforms and simultaneous co-streams presented by our 12 Watch Party Hosts. The hosts have also committed to host the upcoming tournaments as well, making Game Changers EMEA accessible in 7 languages

Vera Wienken, Brand Manager DACH at Riot Games said: “We couldn’t be more proud about our first achievements. It’s awesome seeing these women competing on such a high level and vocalizing their dedication and positive feedback publicly. We see more and more esports organizations signing talents, which is a huge success and will allow us as a region to thrive together towards a more diverse VALORANT esports ecosystem. This is only the beginning, we are here to slay.”

And following the roaring success of our first series, we’re happy to announce that Series #2 and beyond will be backed by an incredible new partner ready to join the fray!

HyperX partners with VCT Game Changers EMEA!

We’re delighted to reveal HyperX as our Main Partner for VCT Game Changers for the remainder of our first season! HyperX is integral to the VALORANT esports community and we’re excited to have them on board to help us push VCT Game Changers EMEA to the next level.

“At HyperX we celebrate and empower all gamers to be their best. The VALORANT Game Changers tournament is an incredible initiative that lifts all women to the forefront of competitive gaming, an area which needs to be improved to ensure inclusivity in gaming and esports. We’re proud to support the VALORANT Game Changers series in EMEA and look forward to witnessing the next generation of a more gender equal esport.”  Said Jessany Van’t Hoff, Head of Global Gaming Partnerships for HyperX.

What’s next? Looking ahead to VCT Game Changers EMEA Series #2

We’re immensely proud of VCT Game Changers Series #1 – so much so that we’re excited to do it all again!

VCT Game Changers EMEA Series #2 will kick off later next Monday as up to 64 all-women teams will battle it out for the lion’s share of the €20,000 prize pool. Series #2 will begin on October 25, with the final game closing out on October 31 in an action-packed week showcasing the best of the best female VALORANT talent EMEA has to offer.

And after watching Series #1, we know that some of these squads are ready to turn up all guns blazing! With that in mind, here are some of teams you should definitely keep an eye out for:

• Rix.GG Lightning

  • The Rix.gg Lightning squad showed they are a force to be reckoned with in the last Series, securing second place after a strong showing against rival squad, TENSTAR Nova. Rix.GG has already established itself as an impressive org within the UK and are known for their fighting spirit during heavy competitions. On their return to Series #2, expect them to come back with a vengeance!

• TENSTAR NOVA

  • TENSTAR Nova are our reigning champs after taking down Rix.GG in VCT Game Changers Series #1, and snagging the biggest slice of the prize pool on offer. The teams return to Series #2 will surely put the other teams on red-alert.

• Oxygen Esports

  • Oxygen Esports were our third place winners of VCT Game Changers Series #1 and showed tremendous determination throughout the competition. With a roster of fantastic players and the hunger to fight for the crown, this Turkish side is definitely one to keep an eye on in Series #2.

• The Originals

  • After securing fourth place in Series #1, The Originals will be aiming for numerous successful rematches this time around. We’re expecting big things from this new team, and we can know their squad are thinking the same thing.