eSports

THE F1 ESPORTS SERIES PRO CHAMPIONSHIP IS BACK!

Published

2 years ago

September 16, 2022

Hunor Pal

Reading Time: 4 minutes

2022 F1 Esports Series Pro Championship presented by Aramco returns with more live shows than ever before.

The 2022 F1 Esports Series Pro Championship presented by Aramco returns on Wednesday 14th September in a new three day-per-Event format with an increased offering of live shows. This year’s schedule of Events and full driver line-ups have been announced, as teams prepare to battle it out once again for a piece of the huge $750,000 prize pot.

This year, drivers will compete in four Events that will each feature three days of racing action, with qualifying and the race of each Round taking place on its own day. Both qualifying and the race for Round 1 at the Sakhir International Circuit, will take place on Wednesday 14th September, before Round 2 (Imola) and Round 3 (Silverstone) will take place on the Thursday and Friday respectively. Each qualifying session will be live from 15:30 BST on the official Formula 1 YouTube, Twitch and Huya, with the race be broadcast live from 19:30 BST on the same platforms, plus Facebook. All the race streams will also be broadcast with select TV broadcasters too, including Sky Sports F1, Viaplay and ESPN. Production will again come live from the Gfinity Arena in London, but drivers will continue to race from team Esports facilities or factories, or their own homes, and will compete on the official F1® 22 video game, developed by EA and Codemasters.

Last year’s series exceeded expectations and shattered records last year reaching over 23 million views across all digital platforms, representing a 103% year-on-year increase; the Grand Final alone saw 4.5m fans tune in to watch – a 67% YoY increase. The competition’s impressive appeal is undeniable as over 1.3 million people attempted to qualify for this year’s championship, almost three times as many as last year.

For their third consecutive year, Aramco return as the presenting partner of the Pro Championship alongside long-term partners DHL and Fanatec, who continue to play a fundamental role in the F1 Esports Series, with the latter again supplying hardware to all drivers for this year’s campaign, as it has done since 2018.

HUGE MOVES ACROSS THE GRID

Since last year’s Championship, there have been several high-profile moves across the grid, including Lucas Blakeley, who was third in last year’s competition, moving from Aston Martin to McLaren Shadow, Manuel Biancolilla’s return after a year out to join Aston Martin, and Filip Prešnajder’s move from Alfa Romeo to Alpine. Reigning back-to-back champion Jarno Opmeer remains at Mercedes, whilst Brendon Leigh stays at Ferrari alongside team-mate Davide Tonizza. Red Bull have retained all their drivers, including the formidable pairing of Marcel Kiefer and Frede Rasmussen.

This new season brings plenty of new talent to the grid as Alpine sign Briton Luke Smith who finished second in the 2022 Pro Exhibition, while Aston Martin bring in Pro-Exhibition semi-finalist Josh Evans, and Haas sign the 2022 Pro Exhibition champion, Thomas Ronhaar.

2022 CALENDAR ANNOUNCED

This year’s campaign will begin on Wednesday 14th September, as drivers replicate the 2022 FIA Formula One World Championship by starting off at the Bahrain International Circuit, before taking to the iconic circuits of Imola and Silverstone.
While most of the selected venues remain the same as last year, Suzuka joins this year’s calendar, as F1 looks forward to returning to Japan, and the season finale will take place at another new addition to this year’s schedule, as competitors battle it out for the title at the Yas Marina Circuit in Abu Dhabi, mirroring the real-life Formula 1 championship.

Brandon Snow, Managing Director – Commercial at Formula 1®, said:
“We’re very excited about the new season of the F1 Esports Series Pro Championship and its growing success, and with so many promising big moves and intriguing driver shifts on the grid, we can’t wait to kick off the season and get racing. 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 an increasing number of fans around the world.”

Paul Jeal, F1 Senior Franchise Director at Codemasters, said:
“The new era of F1 has delivered incredible drama, and it’s time for the best esports drivers to take their seats in a fresh format for a piece of the £750,000 prize pot. With up-and-coming talent facing off with established pros, this season could be the most unpredictable yet, and we can’t wait for lights out.”

John Clarke, CEO at Gfinity, said:
“The F1 Esports Pro Championship continues to go from strength to strength. Last year’s viewing numbers more than doubled, which resulted in a record 1.3million drivers taking part in the battle for a place on one of the F1 teams’ rosters. That number has now been whittled down to the top 30 drivers who are primed to come together and test their skills on twelve iconic Formula 1 circuits. This year’s event promises to be the biggest and best yet and we can’t wait to bring the racing live to the world from the home of F1 Esports, the Gfinity Arena.”

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eSports

Record Number of Host City Applications for IESF’s Events

Published

2 days ago

October 4, 2024

Adrienn Sarkany

Reading Time: 2 minutes

The International Esports Federation (IESF) is pleased to announce the conclusion of the bidding process for hosting the 2025 and 2026 IESF Events – the World Esports Championship and Regional Qualifiers. For the first time in our history, we have received a record number of applications, with over 30 cities from across all continents submitting their bids to host our signature Esports events.

The increased interest in hosting IESF events reflects the expansion of the Esports community and the impact these tournaments have had on the intern ational esports scene. From Europe to Asia & Oceania, Africa to the Americas, cities are making significant efforts to develop their local Esports ecosystems while also presenting their capability to host nations from around the world. The opportunity to serve as the home of Esports for a year is seen as a meaningful step forward, with long-lasting benefits in both the local and international growth of Esports.

“Over the last five years, IESF events have grown rapidly, and so has the excitement around hosting one of the world’s biggest esports events. IESF events are truly one-of-a-kind and bring huge value to our host nations – or as we like to call them, the “Esports capital of the world.’ It’s amazing to see this growing interest, and we can’t wait to continue bringing the global Esports community together through these incredible events.”- stated Boban Totovski, the General Secretary of IESF.

We are now thoroughly reviewing the applications to determine which cities meet our criteria and requirements and align with IESF’s core mission of developing Esports in a sustainable and inclusive manner.

IESF is dedicated to ensuring that every event we host leaves a meaningful and lasting impact. The upcoming selection of our host cities will shape the future of many Esports communities across the globe and redefine the Esports landscape by supporting new emerging regions and strengthening the existing ones.

eSports

The legends return! GG.BET is hosting a second long-awaited battle between NAVI and Team Vitality in Match of LeGGends: Double Down

Published

3 days ago

October 3, 2024

Peter Tolan

Reading Time: 2 minutes

On October 5, at 19:00 EEST, NAVI and Team Vitality will go head-to-head again in an epic Counter-Strike 2 show match organized by betting brand GG.BET. In Match of LeGGends: Double Down, viewers can expect unique showdown formats and a special bonus with promo code NAVITALITY.

The top two teams in the world will battle it out in this show match. Match of LeGGends: Double Down will see Team Vitality, who were IEM Cologne 2024 champions, and NAVI, who won gold this year at the PGL Major Copenhagen, EWC and ESL Pro League S20, go head-to-head. Viewers can also expect a nail-biting encounter between two rival MVPs — Mathieu “ZywOo” Herbaut and Justinas “jL” Lekavičius.

The show match will begin in a classic Standard format: the teams will play МR12 on the de_tuscan map. The second random map will be played in Arms Race Mode: gameplay will switch to Deathmatch mode, where it’s every man for himself. The main objective here is to achieve kills using various types of weapons and finish the game with a knife kill. The third randomly selected map will be played in MR12 format in Hostage Rescue mode: Counter Terrorists will be tasked with rescuing hostages, and Terrorists will try to stop them.

The show match is being organized by GG.BET, the official betting partner of esports team NAVI and Team Vitality’s CS2 roster. GG.BET hosted the first Match of LeGGends in July 2023, and the match racked up over 1 million views.

To celebrate Match of LeGGends: Double Down, GG.BET is offering an exclusive sportsbook and gifting users a bonus: a freebet worth up to 100 USD with promo code NAVITALITY.

Match of LeGGends: Double Down will be streamed in two languages. Watch the English-language stream on NAVI and Team Vitality’s official Twitch channels, and watch in Ukrainian on the Maincast Twitch channel.

Asia

Skyesports and Realme Conclude Realme Campus Gaming League in Chennai: National Collegiate Esports Tournament Sees More Than 10,000 Players Participate

Published

3 days ago

October 3, 2024

Peter Tolan

Reading Time: 2 minutes

Skyesports, a premier global IP and community builder for gaming and esports, and Realme have wrapped up the Realme Campus Gaming League, a national collegiate esports tournament.

The Grand Finals took place at the SIGMA Auditorium, Sri Sairaam Engineering College, Chennai, and witnessed the top 16 college teams from across India compete in Battlegrounds Mobile India (BGMI) to crown the champions.

Galactic Wolves emerged victorious, securing the title and taking home INR 200,000 from the event’s total prize pool of INR 400,000. The fight went down to the penultimate game, where Galactic Wolves secured a first-place finish to climb to the top of the overall standings.

The Realme Campus Gaming League was launched with a mission to empower college students across India and provide them with a platform to showcase their esports talents in BGMI. The tournament attracted record participation, with more than 2,700 teams from over 200 colleges nationwide vying for a spot in the Grand Finals. To ensure the representation of local talent, Skyesports also organized a local qualifier at the Sri Sairaam Engineering College, with two teams earning their place in the Finals.

Adding to the excitement, renowned gaming personalities Jonathan Gaming and Jelly graced the Grand Finals, interacting with participants and sharing valuable feedback. Jonathan Gaming, fresh from his third-place finish in the BGMI Pro Series (BMPS) 2024 with GodLIke Esports in Kochi, inspired the young competitors with his insights and experience.

Commenting on the tournament, Shiva Nandy, Founder and CEO of Skyesports, said, “Partnering with Realme for the Campus Gaming League has been an incredible experience, as they share our commitment to developing grassroots esports. This tournament was not only a thrilling spectacle for esports fans, but it also offered a platform for college students across India to showcase their talent. The high participation highlights the immense potential at the grassroots level and underscores the importance of fostering and nurturing this talent for the future of Indian esports.”

A Realme spokesperson said, “We are thrilled to support the burgeoning collegiate esports scene in India through the Realme Campus Gaming League. At the LAN Finals in Chennai, players competed in the Realme 13+ 5G which proved to be a formidable device for esports players and casual gamers alike. The event saw over 10,000 participants and garnered more than 250,000 views on social media, showcasing the immense interest and engagement in esports at the grassroots level.”

The Realme Campus Gaming League has set a new benchmark for collegiate esports in India, further cementing Skyesports’ and Realme’s commitment to supporting esports at all levels.