eSports

Full team line-ups and event details announced for 2021 F1® Esports Series Pro Championship presented by Aramco

Published

3 years ago

September 16, 2021

Full team line-ups and event details announced for 2021 F1® Esports Series Pro Championship presented by Aramco

Reading Time: 5 minutes

Ahead of the highly anticipated 2021 F1^® Esports Series Pro Championship presented by Aramco, which begins next month, the full driver line-ups and event details were announced in Wednesday’s Preview Show, as teams’ get set to battle it out once again for a piece of the huge $750,000 prize pot – one of the biggest in Esports.

F1^® Esports Series’ flagship competition continues to exceed expectation and shatter records along the way with last year’s Pro Series, as it was then called, achieving 10.6m views across TV & digital, as well as a record 291m social impressions and 23.8m video views throughout the campaign. The ever-rising popularity of the competition was even more evident as nearly half a million people attempted to qualify for this year’s championship, an increase of 108% from 2020.

As per the 2020 competition, due to COVID-19 travel restrictions, drivers will continue to race from team factories or bespoke Esports facilities, or their own homes, whilst broadcasts will be filmed from the Gfinity Arena in London. Drivers will compete on the official F1^® 2021 video game, developed by Codemasters and EA.

Aramco return as the presenting partner of the Pro Championship for a second year, and long-term partners DHL and Fanatec also continue to be a key part of the F1^® Esports Series. Fanatec will supply hardware to all drivers for this year’s campaign, as it had done since 2018, while three new drivers will compete in the 2021 season after qualifying through the DHL Time-Trial qualification route, including prominent sim-racer Sebastian Job, who joins Alpha Tauri.

HUGE MOVES ACROSS THE GRID

Since last year’s Championship wrapped up in December, there have been a number of high-profile moves around the grid as two world champions switched allegiances in the off-season. Reigning champion Jarno Opmeer, who secured his first title with Alfa Romeo, has joined Mercedes, filling the spot left by Brendon Leigh. Two-time world champion Leigh, who has been recruited by the FDA, joins the only other drivers champion, David Tonizza.

Reigning teams’ champions Red Bull have retained duo Marcel Kiefer and Frederik Rasmussen, who will both be in contention for a shot at this year’s individual honour, whilst Opmeer’s teammate Dani Bereznay, who helped Alfa Romeo to a second-place finish in the teams’ championship has joined McLaren as they prepare for the new season with a completely new three-driver roster, with last year’s ‘Rookie of the Year’ Dani Moreno also heading to Mercedes.

There will be ten new drivers on this year’s driver line-up, with a third of the grid having been scouted through this year’s Pro Exhibition after qualifying via one of F1^® Esports Series’ qualification routes.

Team	Number	Driver	Nationality	D.O.B
Alfa Romeo Racing ORLEN F1 Esports	30	Simon Weigang	German	28/10/1997
	38	Filip Prešnajder	Slovakian	27/11/2002
	73	Thijmen Schütte	Dutch	25/08/2004
Scuderia AlphaTauri Esports Team	51	Joni Törmälä	Finnish	15/08/1996
	13	Sebastian Job	British	22/03/2000
	28	Dario Iemmulo	Italian	28/01/2003
Alpine Esports Team	40	Nicolas Longuet	French	06/08/2002
	8	Fabrizio Donoso	Chilean	19/06/1999
	80	Patrik Sipos	Hungarian	30/04/2003
Aston Martin Cognizant Esports Team	88	Lucas Blakely	British	15/07/2001
	92	Daniele Haddad	Italian	12/08/1992
	79	Shanaka Clay	British	04/02/1999
FDA Esports Team	95	David Tonizza	Italian	14/01/2002
	72	Brendon Leigh	British	07/08/1999
	29	Domenico Lovece	Italian	29/06/2001
Uralkali Haas F1 Team Esports	2	Cedric Thomé	German	26/02/1998
	15	Samuel Libeert	French	12/11/1992
	48	Matthjs van Erven	Dutch	03/03/2003
McLaren Shadow	12	Daniel Bereznay	Hungarian	28/05/2000
	20	Bardia Boroumand	Iranian	17/04/2003
	52	Josh Idowu	British	10/02/2003
Mercedes-AMG Petronas Esports Team	34	Jarno Opmeer	Dutch	11/04/2000
	26	Dani Moreno	Spanish	09/01/2001
	94	Bono Huis	Dutch	04/12/1994
Red Bull Racing Esports	24	Marcel Kiefer	German	24/08/1998
	19	Frederik Rasmussen	Danish	18/06/2000
	59	Liam Parnell	German	05/09/2002
Williams Esports	21	Álvaro Carretón	Spanish	21/07/2001
	53	Michael Romanidis	Greek	07/09/2003
	23	Alessio Di Capua	Italian	10/04/2002

TWO CIRCUIT DEBUTS, AND OLD FAVOURITES RETURN

This year’s campaign, the fifth season of the competition, will begin on Wednesday 13 October with the first two races of Event 1, as drivers’ replicate the 2021 FIA Formula One World Championship by starting off at the Bahrain International Circuit. Whilst the real-world F1^® drivers couldn’t travel to China this year, the Shanghai International Circuit will be brought to life virtually, before the always popular Red Bull Ring rounds off the season-opening Event on the following day.

While most of the chosen venues remain the same as last year, including Zandvoort where F1^® returned earlier this month, there are three new tracks for drivers to get to grips with this season. The ‘rollercoaster’ in Portimão makes its debut in the Pro Championships, as does Imola, whilst the Circuit of the Americas returns to the calendar. As has been the case for the past two campaigns, the season finale will see competitors battle it out at Interlagos.

Event #	Date	Round #	Circuit
Event 1	13-14 October	Round 1	Sakhir, Bahrain
		Round 2	Shanghai, China
		Round 3	Spielberg, Austria
Event 2	27-28 October	Round 4	Silverstone, Great Britain
		Round 5	Monza, Italy
		Round 6	Spa, Belgium
Event 3	24-25 November	Round 7	Portimão, Portugal
		Round 8	Zandvoort, Netherlands
		Round 9	Austin, USA
Event 4	15-16 December	Round 10	Imola, Italy
		Round 11	Mexico City, Mexico
		Round 12	Interlagos, Brazil

EIGHT LIVE SHOWS ACROSS THE SEASON

F1^® Esports fans will be happy to hear that following the increased coverage of last year’s Pro Series, the format will remain the same for 2021, where there will be live racing on Wednesday and Thursday of each Event week, as well as livestreamed qualifying sessions on both days. The Pro Championship will be broadcast on the official F1^® social channels (Facebook, YouTube, Twitch and Huya), as well as select TV broadcast partners.

Ben Pincus, Director of Commercial Partnerships at Formula 1^®, said:

“There’s huge excitement building ahead of the new season of the F1 Esports Series Pro Championship, and we can’t wait to get started, and with so many big moves around the grid, this year’s title really is anyone’s for the taking! As always, we want to thank our partners Aramco, DHL and Fanatec for their continued support which enables us to bring elite sim-racing to fans around the world.”

Paul Jeal, F1 Senior Franchise Director at Codemasters, said:

“The 2021 F1 Esports Series Pro Championship promises to be the most exciting and unpredictable season to date. There have been some exciting driver moves with former double F1 Esports Champion Brendon Leigh joining another ex-champion David Tonizza at Ferrari, and our current F1 Esports Champion Jarno Opmeer moving to Mercedes. We also welcome new exciting talent from the Challengers, and it will be fascinating to see how Alessio Di Capua and Josh Idowu compete on the biggest stage. On behalf of the F1 team at Codemasters and all our players worldwide, good luck to the 2021 drivers. Let the racing begin.”

John Clarke, CEO at Gfinity, said:

“Anticipation is building for the new season of the F1 Esports Series Pro Championship presented by Aramco. It has become a must watch competition for both existing, and an ever-growing army of new, virtual racing fans. The bar is raised each year with new talent emerging and spectacular racing. The Gfinity production team will also be raising the bar with more storytelling and high-octane coverage of the races. It’s time to sit back and enjoy the show!”

Related Topics:Ben Pincus Director of Commercial Partnerships at Formula 1 Codemasters EA F1 Esports F1 Esports Series Pro Championship

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eSports

North Star Network acquires Um Dois Esportes

Published

1 day ago

April 24, 2024

Peter Tolan

Reading Time: 2 minutes

North Star Network are delighted to announce the acquisition of umdoisesportes.com.br, which becomes the latest addition to NSN’s global sports media portfolio.

Born from the GRPCOM merger of the editorial teams of Gazeta Do Povo and Tribuna do Paraná in 2020, Um Dois Esportes provides in-depth sports coverage and analysis for the Brazilian state of Paraná and beyond.

North Star Network co-founder Julien Josset said: “Thank you to the team at GRPCOM for their faith in us to take the brand forward. Um Dois Esportes is an established and renowned site in Paraná State, and we’re excited about the challenge of developing this asset.”

“We’re happy to maintain the collaboration with the existing editorial team, and look forward to working with them, bringing our unique NSN approach, to take UDE forward.” NSN’s signing of Um Dois Esportes is the media house’s fourth acquisition of 2024, following the recent deals to purchase UK-based SportsMole and MrFixitsTips, as well as Chilean site AlAireLibre, which was announced in March.

The latest addition to the North Star media portfolio joins existing assets including Top Mercato, Afrik-Foot, and Vringe. The Paris-based company already oversees a significant Brazilian operation, delivering over 6 million sessions per month, from the likes of Trivela, Premier League Brasil and Lakers Brasil.

NSN will retain Curitiba-based journalists from the Um Dois Esportes legacy team to maintain the asset’s unique tone and popular coverage of the Paraná sports scene across site and social.

“We were surprised by the interest, and initially had no intention of selling Um Dois, but as the conversations evolved, we realised this was a serious group with good intentions,” said GRPCOM Director Rafael Mello. “We were very happy to see our project being valued by a large international group and going global, demonstrating the quality of the content we produced.”

“We’re also proud that North Star inherited our journalists, who are truly responsible for the success of the product we offer readers every day.”

eSports

GIANTX Promotes LVP Superliga Toplaner Th3Antonio to the League of Legends EMEA Championship Roster

Published

2 days ago

April 24, 2024

Adrienn Sarkany

Reading Time: 2 minutes

Today, GIANTX is excited to announce an update to its LEC competitive roster. Antonio”Th3Antonio” Espinosa Bejarano is recognised as one of the most successful LVP Superliga players in the history of GIANTX, and he has now reached a pivotal moment in his career to compete in the League of Legends EMEA Championship (LEC).

The LEC is the most important League of Legends competition in Europe and one of the most relevant in the international esports scene. The Barcelona-born ‘toplaner’ will be part of the lineup kicking off the LEC Summer split season in Berlin, which starts in June. As the community quotes; ‘Th3LEC’ is finally a reality.

Commenting on his new role, Th3Antonio said:

“This is the dream I’ve been working towards since I entered esports. I always wanted to compete at the highest level to face the best, and finally, I have this opportunity. I never stopped striving, and thanks to that and the work we’ve done together with all my teammates, we’ve achieved great things in Spain, but the LEC has always been my ultimate goal. Going to the LEC with my lifelong club, GIANTX, is a double dream. Everyone knows what GIANTX means to me”.

Sports Director at GIANTX, David Alonso, added:

“Th3Antonio deserves this opportunity, both in recognition of the level he’s at and all the work he has put in over the past few years. We are convinced of this decision and that he will give everything to succeed in the LEC. He has always been characterised by sacrificing himself for others, and lately, he has taken a step forward by leading in crucial moments, a clear sign of his maturity as a player”.

Having joined at a young age in 2017, Antonio ‘Th3Antonio’ Espinosa has become one of the most decorated players of the LVP Superliga and of GIANTX history. During his time with the team, he has won four Superliga titles, two Iberian Cups, one Copa, and has reached an EMEA Masters final, as well as other national competitions.

The decision to promote Th3Antonio reflects GIANTX’s need to implement changes following the results of the LEC Winter and Spring split seasons. In both splits, the team fell short in the first round of playoffs. The Summer split season is the main shot at Worlds for all teams, and the aim of the club was to make the necessary changes to achieve this goal. After a period of reflection and numerous trials, Th3Antonio has been chosen for the toplaner position.

eSports

L&G esports team founded by Alona Shevtsova won the national Dragon EC Cup tournament

Published

2 days ago

April 24, 2024

Zoltan Tundik

Four teams competed in the tournament's final: Lazer Cats, L&G, which received a direct invitation to the final stage, EsportsBattle, and ThunderFlash, which had open qualifiers.

Reading Time: < 1 minute

Ukrainian esports team L&G won the Dragon EC Cup tournament, held on the 20th of April by Dragon Esports Club. Four teams competed in the tournament’s final: Lazer Cats, L&G, which received a direct invitation to the final stage, EsportsBattle, and ThunderFlash, which had open qualifiers. During the Grand Final, the L&G team competed with Lazer Cats on Mirage, Anubis, and Vertigo maps.

“This victory is a testament to the exceptional talent and commitment of our players, as well as the collective effort of our coaching staff and support personnel,” said Alona Shevtsova, founder of L&G Esports. “We are immensely proud of their accomplishments and grateful for the unwavering support of our fans.”

L&G is among the top 5 Ukrainian teams in Counter-Strike: Global Offensive. It was founded in 2021. The previous name was Leogaming, and it was created on the initiative of the famous Alona Shevtsova from the fintech sector.

The team began competing in top tournaments and almost immediately made it to the Advanced division of the ESEA League Europe competition. The team also participated in and took prizes in European tournaments such as the SCL League, WhiteBit Crypto Open, Phoenix League, and local competitions. The team players are marat2k, r0ublE, kr1vda, kL1o, OneUn1que, rji (coach).

The winners received a 50,000 UAH prize. Dragon Esports Club also prepared a 15-skin giveaway for the broadcast’s viewers.

It is worth mentioning that the L&G team created its merch items, which are available for order worldwide. To get more information about the team, visit the L&G Instagram page, Twitch, or Telegram Channel.