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


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!”
Africa
Results: 2023 Northern Cape Online Championships

Even with load shedding causing frustration among both athletes and officials alike, Mind Sports South Africa (MSSA) was able to still host a verys successful championship were all participants were able to compete and, most of all, have fun.
With the “competent” South African government stating that South Africa will have load shedding for the next two years, MSSA is already reviewing its policies in regard to load shedding and its online championships.
Load shedding has a huge impact on esports, and may end up causing online console and pc gaming to become elitist as only those who are substantially financially advantaged will be able to compete. It may also result in mobile esports becoming more popular.. A continuous and consistent electricity supply is vital to South Africa developing as a major esports nation.
Nevertheless, MSSA is more than happy with the results from the 2023 Northern Cape Championships.
There were no less than seven (7) provinces represented, and more importantly, there were more females participating since 2020. Of the 22 athletes who earned Provincial Colours, 7 of such athletes are females.
Special mention must be made of Karli Roodt (Middelburg Hoërskool) who is the first female champion in the esports title of Rocket League to earn Mpumalanga Provincial colours. Karli also qualifies for National Team Trials, and may very well end up in the National Squad and/or Protea Team.
The female esports team, VYBN Females, also had a good showing in the CSGO esports title. The team has now earned Provincial colours as well as qualifying for National Team Trials, and may very well end up in the National Squad and/or Protea Team. Of course, CSGO is just one of the six titles which MSSA has entered to contest at IESF’s 15th World Championships.
IESF’s 15th World Championships will be played to the following titles:
- Counter-Strike: GO (CSGO)
- Counter-Strike: GO (CSGO) – Female division
- DotA 2
- eFootball
- Mobile Legends, Bang Bang
- PUBGM
- Tekken 7
The winners of the 2023 Northern Cape Online Championships are:
Title | Name of player/team | Club | Colours awarded |
Clash of Clans | Martin Venter | Hoër Volkskool Potchefstroom | North West |
Clash Royale – Premier | John Kim | Middies | Mpumulanga |
Clash Royale – Premier – Female | Leone Loftus | Masters of Mind Sports | Free State |
Clash Royale | Tshwarelo Tshwane | Knights Mind Sports Club | |
CS:GO – Premier
|
ZAG CS |
ZAG Academy
|
|
Josh Chapman | Western Cape | ||
Sebastian Montoya-Pelaez | Western Cape | ||
Michael de Villiers | Western Cape | ||
Josh Orelowitz | Western Cape | ||
Thomas Venables | Gauteng | ||
CS:GO – Premier – Female
|
VYBN Females |
ZAG Academy
|
|
Paula van Vuuren | Western Cape | ||
Chloe Wilson | Gauteng | ||
Rialet van Jaarsveld | Gauteng | ||
Nicky Muller | Gauteng | ||
Alexandria Kruger | Mpumulanga | ||
FIFA 23 – Premier | Antonie Botes | Hoër Volkskool Potchefstroom | North West |
PUBGM – Premier
|
Team eFx |
Team eFx
|
|
Sulaimaan Musthan | KwaZulu Natal | ||
Jared Rubly | Gauteng | ||
Jarrod Pretorius | Gauteng | ||
Richard Henry | Eastern Cape | ||
Rocket League – Premier | Nick Matzopoulos | ZAG Academy | Western Cape |
Rocket League – Premier – Female | Karli Roodt | Middies | Mumulanga |
Rocket League – High Schools | Maree van der Merwe | Hoër Volkskool Potchefstroom | |
Tekken 7 | Jonathan Brown | Team Playbell | Western Cape |
Sportsmanship Award | Desiree Botha | Middies |
eSports
Guild Esports pro-player has $1 million MrBeast win verified

Guild Esports, a global teams organisation and lifestyle brand, has confirmed that Fortnite pro-player, Anas El-Abd (‘Anas’), has had his $1 million MrBeast Fortnite competition win verified by organisers Epic Games and Jimmy ‘MrBeast’ Donaldson – a YouTube personality with the fourth-biggest channel on YouTube and more than 125 million subscribers.
Anas’ victory in the ‘MrBeast’s Extreme Survival Challenge’, which took place on 17 December 2022, has cemented his position as one of the top Fortnite players competing globally at a professional level.
When Anas joined Guild in 2021, he brought with him experience of the European pro scene, having played Fortnite since 2017. Anas has qualified for the game’s flagship Fortnite Champion Series (FNCS) Finals 14 times over the space of four years and 13 seasons, with this latest MrBeast accolade adding to his already impressive track record.
The MrBeast tournament victory from Anas rounded off a highly successful year of competition for Guild Esports and its players in 2022, with notable wins across the RL EMEA Predator League 2022, Game Changers EMEA Series 3, Fortnite Champion Series, EA Sports FIFA 22 eChampions League and the MrBeast Challenge.
In 2023, Guild is one of the leading organisations remaining committed to Fortnite competitions, with previous Fortnite tournament victories including four FNCS titles, Gamers8 – No Build, and the recent MrBeast Extreme Survival Challenge. Guild’s current Fortnite duo Anas and Henrik Mclean (‘Hen’) are also trialling playing together. Hen brings three FNCS trophies to the partnership, while Anas has one of the most consistent and highest average placement positions.
Jasmine Skee, CEO of Guild Esports, commented: “Many congratulations to Anas, who has proven yet again that he is among the world’s best Fortnite players. We are delighted by his success, which underscores the exceptional talent within Guild’s teams. Winning tournaments, reaching ever-larger audiences and gaining new fans, supports our ongoing growth as a leading global esports organisation. We can’t wait to see how Anas and Hen get on this year collaborating further and playing as a duo for Guild.”
Anas El-Abd (‘Anas’), Fortnite player at Guild Esports, commented: “Winning the MrBeast Challenge is one of my best accomplishments since playing Fortnite. Moving forward I will be focusing on tournaments with myself and Hen. We are doing pretty well playing together now, we are both good players and were both looking for a duo, so it makes sense to try it out.”
eSports
The World’s Biggest Esports Stars Train at Kinguin’s Cutting-Edge Esports Performance Center in Warsaw – Summary of 2022

In 2022, 66 bootcamps and 20 special events were held at the Kinguin Esports Performance Center in Warsaw – the state-of-the-art esports training center for players and teams in Europe.
Kinguin EPC is where the best teams in the world train to prepare for tournaments across key esports titles including Counter-Strike: Global Offensive, League of Legends, Dota 2, FIFA, Rocket League, Fortnite, VALORANT and Rainbow Six: Siege.
2022 in numbers:
- Number of bootcamps: 66
- Number of events: 20
- Longest stays: Misfits Premier – 116 days, X7 – 88 days
- The largest bootcamp: Seven Goats – 25 people
- Guests who visited EPC the most: Anonymo (6 bootcamps), Imperial (5), NAVI Javelins (4)
2022 was a thrilling year at the Kinguin Esports Performance Center being used by leading teams including Tundra Esports players, who in the following months won The Dota 2 International and FaZe Clan – winners of Intel Extreme Masters Katowice 2022. The center was also visited by teams such as Imperial, Renegades, Team Falcons, MOUZ, AGO, OG, TYLOO, MIBR, NAVI, SKADE, Acend, Wisła Kraków, Anonymo, Excel, Exeed, TSM and Pasha Gaming Camp.
Paweł Książek, Head of Kinguin Esports Performance Center, said: “The Kinguin Esports Performance Center was created with the best teams in the world in mind and last year showed the importance of the EPC to esports players and teams. It is an honor to host some of the biggest esports teams and legends including the winners of the most prestigious tournaments.”
Since the start of the war in Ukraine, Kinguin has been actively helping people affected by the conflict. The Kinguin Esports Performance Center is open to all Ukrainian esports players and their families free of charge. To date, it has hosted almost 30 people, and its doors are still open to Ukrainian people in need of support.
Kinguin EPC hosted 20 industry events in 2022 including SkillFactor, a talent show where young esports players competed against each other in CS:GO, Deluxe Ski Jump 2 tournament powered by Rockstar Energy Drinks, Esports Skills Camp, modern gaming colonies and practical classes in esports for the University of Physical Culture and Tourism in Pruszków.
Other key events include Intel Overclocking Masters, journalistic competitions in spinning processors, as well as broadcasts from Kinguin Legends, the world’s first tournament featuring the biggest stars in the history of the CS:GO scene.
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