European esports team to join Elite Series:S3

RNS Number : 0058A

Gfinity PLC

21 December 2017

 

Dissemination of a Regulatory Announcement that contains inside information according to REGULATION (EU) No 596/2014 (MAR)

Gfinity plc

("Gfinity" or the "Company")

Leading European esports franchise to compete in Elite Series:S3

Team Vitality is the second new franchise to join Elite Series season three

Gfinity plc (AIM: GFIN), a leading international esports entertainment group, announces that leading French esports franchise and current reigning EA SPORTS™ FIFA Ultimate Team World Champions, Team Vitality, will join the highly popular Gfinity Elite Series for season three, which is due to commence in March 2018.

Team Vitality is a high calibre multi-game esports organisation based in France that currently has teams competing across a series of games including: first-person shooters, Call of Duty, Halo and Rainbow Six Siege; football simulation game, FIFA 18; and multiplayer online battle arena video game, League of Legends ('LoL').

Currently ranked third in the European Call of Duty Pro points standings, Team Vitality has firmly established itself worldwide and the experienced team will bring a wealth of talent to the Elite Series and make a huge impact at the Gfinity Esports Arena in London next year.

Vitality will battle against nine other world class teams in the Elite Series including the recently announced, Fnatic, Team Envy and season two franchise winners Reason Gaming.

Prior to Vitality's opening FIFA 18 match, amateur players from around the world are invited to sign up for free to compete in the Challenger Series to earn a place in the Elite Draft. After six weeks of online competition, the top 40 players will enter the Elite Draft in the hope of being selected by one of the 10 teams with each drafting two players to become part of their active roster. The teams will compete in a six-week regular season in a bid to make the Elite Series play-offs which will be played over a two-week period from the Gfinity Esports Arena in London, with season three play-offs starting in March 2018.

Neville Upton, Chief Executive of Gfinity, said: "Having the current reigning EA SPORTS™ FIFA Ultimate Team World Champions competing at next season's Elite Series in March is quite a coup for Gfinity.

"As the Elite Series fanbase grows significantly from series to series, we are challenging ourselves to showcase the best global esports talent and we are delighted to welcome Team Vitality.

"Given their standing in European and Global esports, the highly decorated team will push the quality of the forthcoming Elite Series competition, one of the world's premier esports leagues, to an even higher level."

Nicolas Maurer, CEO, Team Vitality, said: "Team Vitality is thrilled to join the Gfinity Elite Series in London. The Elite Series has proven itself to be a world-class tournament and we welcome the opportunity to discover new european talent.

"Our strategy is to participate in every major league tournament in Europe and we hope to see our teams perform, our fans captivated and our partners live esports as we do."

Enquiries:

Gfinity plc	www.gfinityplc.com
Neville Upton, Chief Executive Officer	Via Walbrook PR
Allenby Capital Limited - AIM Nominated Adviser and Broker	Tel. [phone]
Jeremy Porter / John Depasquale / James Thomas
Walbrook PR (Media & Investor Relations)	Tel: [phone]
Paul Cornelius / Sam Allen	or [e-mail]

About Gfinity

Founded in 2012, Gfinity has established itself as one of the world's leading esports companies.  The London-based business enjoys strong relationships with game publishers, players and the wider esports community and has built a solid reputation for delivering high quality competitions, both on-line at www.gfinityesports.com and off-line, in addition to producing industry leading esports broadcasts.

The Gfinity Esports Arena at Fulham Broadway, London is the home of UK esports showcasing regular tournaments across the full range of competitive games. Beyond its own tournaments Gfinity provides a full turnkey solution for brands wanting to create their own esports tournaments and has staged premium esports events around the globe for leading publishers and brands including Formula 1, Microsoft, Activision, EA, Xbox, Gillette and HP.

Gfinity Elite Series Season 2 highlights:

·     Gfinity received over 5 million live views and over 9 million in total which was an increase of 51% and 86% respectively

·     Total engagement on Facebook was in excess of 1.1 million

·     Average viewing time on Twitch increased by 20%

Gfinity is an accredited official EA SPORTS™ FIFA 18 Global Series qualifier as EA brings competitive FIFA to millions of fans around the world through the EA SPORTS FIFA 18 Global Series on The Road to the FIFA eWorld Cup 2018 in August 2018. 

For more details on the entire EA SPORTS FIFA 18 Global Series, please visit www.FUTChampions.com

For more information about the Challenger season, which is free and open to everyone, please visit https://challenger.gfinityesports.com/

About esports

Esports (electronic sports) is watching or playing competitive video gaming. Leading titles include League of Legends, Counter-Strike: Global Offensive, Defence of the Ancients 2 (DotA 2), Call of Duty and Rocket League. The industry is growing rapidly, with new communities developing around more and more titles. The global esports market generated US$493 million of revenue in 2016 and is expected to make $1.5 billion by 2020. The global esports audience in 2017 was 191 million people, 80% under the age of 35 and 70% male (source: Newzoo). Online streaming channels Twitch and YouTube command the biggest audiences, although esports events are also now being broadcast on conventional TV.  The 2015 League of Legends Championships finals in Berlin were watched by 36 million people, with a peak concurrent viewership of 14 million viewers, while at DotA 2's flagship annual championship 'The International 2016' competitors from around the world competed for a prize pot of over $20 million.

About Team Vitality

Team Vitality was created in August 2013 and is the number one esports franchise in France. Accompanied by renowned partners and home of the best French players on many video games, Vitality shines internationally thanks to its impressive record, including the current reining EA SPORTS™ FIFA Ultimate Team World Champions.

FIFA Ultimate Team World Championships

The EA SPORTS™ FIFA 17 Ultimate Team Championship Series is open to eligible FIFA 17 players on both Xbox One and PLAYSTATION®4 consoles who register for the competition.

 

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