FIFA 18 to form part of Elite Series: Season Three

RNS Number : 4901Y

Gfinity PLC

06 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")

FIFA 18 to form part of Elite Series: Season Three

One of the world's premier esports competitions recognised as an official route to the FIFA eWorld Cup

Gfinity plc (AIM: GFIN), a leading international esports entertainment group, announces that the Gfinity Elite Series will become the first esports competition to include EA SPORTS™ FIFA 18 ("FIFA 18") in its schedule when season three of one of the world's premier esports competitions begins in March 2018.

Gfinity's Elite Series will also become an accredited official EA SPORTS™ FIFA 18 Global Series qualifier as EA (Electronic Arts Inc.) brings competitive FIFA to millions of fans around the world through the EA SPORTS FIFA 18 Global Series, which is a pre cursor to the FIFA eWorld Cup 2018, the official World Cup for FIFA 18 taking place in August 2018.

FIFA 18 is one of the world's most played and watched competitive gaming titles and the FIFA series has sold over 150 million copies globally with more than 200 million matches taking place every week, giving virtual footballers the chance to express themselves at the highest level of competition. 

The Board of Gfinity believes the inclusion of FIFA 18 in the Elite Series will bring both an exciting new dimension to the competition and accelerate commercial opportunities from potential sponsorship and advertising revenue for both the Elite Series and Challenger series.

Aspiring competitive FIFA players will be able to showcase their skills when the Gfinity Challenger Series kicks-off in January 2018. The top 40 ranked players at the end of the six week Challenger Season will become eligible for the Elite Draft and have an opportunity to be selected by one of the Elite Series professional franchises to take part in the Elite Series in March 2018.

Neville Upton, Chief Executive of Gfinity, said: "Gfinity is the first esports company to secure an EA SPORTS FIFA 18 Global Series licence and we are excited to build on our long-standing relationship with EA. The addition of the hugely popular FIFA 18 to our game line-up adds a very enticing dimension to the Gfinity Elite Series.

"FIFA is one of the most requested games by our teams, players and fans and we will create very engaging competition and content for our community. The Elite Series is growing rapidly week-on-week and the addition of FIFA will only help to accelerate this growth and with it increased commercial opportunities.  The upcoming season of Challenger Series is set to be the most competitive to date as we welcome new pro gamers to the tournament."

Brent Koning, FIFA Competitive Gaming Commissioner, said: "We are excited to be welcoming the Gfinity Elite Series into the EA SPORTS FIFA 18 Global Series. As we continue to engage millions of FIFA players in the community, and attract viewers from all around the world, this year will be truly special as we see the best from the Elite Series on the road to the FIFA eWorld Cup 2018."

FIFA 18 is a football simulation video game within the FIFA series of video games, which is developed and published by Electronic Arts Inc (NASDAQ : EA:US) and licenced by the Fédération Internationale de Football Association.

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 Challenger and Elite Series:

·     Challenger Series has had over 20,000 18-35-year-old gamers participate from 18 different countries

·     Elite Series Season 1 created 180 hours of live broadcast viewed by over 3M people in more than 30 countries 

·     Through the first seven weeks of Elite Series Season 2, total views were 3.64M showing a 40% increase on Elite Series Season 1 viewership

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.

Road to the FIFA eWorld Cup began 3 November 2017

The Road to the FIFA eWorld Cup encompasses the new FIFA 18 Global Series, the official qualification tournament for the main event, The FIFA eWorld Cup 18 Grand Final, where the dreams of millions of FIFA players become the reality of one champion. The global series kicked-off on 3 November 2017.

The EA SPORTS FIFA 18 Global Series (November 2017 to July 2018) 

The FIFA Global Series is the yearlong qualification tour for the FIFA eWorld Cup 18 Grand Final. Competitors will qualify based on FIFA Ultimate Team (FUT) Champions Weekend League online performance and at blockbuster live qualifying events throughout the year.

Through the FIFA 18 Global Series, EA and FIFA will identify the top-ranked 128 competitors (64 competitors representing PlayStation®4 and 64 competitors representing Xbox One) to advance to the EA SPORTS FIFA 18 Global Series Playoffs. The Playoffs, in turn, lead to the final stop on the Global Series Tour - the FIFA eWorld Cup Grand Final 18 - where one champion will be crowned, lives transformed and dreams suddenly realised.

Global Series (qualification categories) 

·      FIFA Ultimate Team Champions Cups: These mass entry tournaments kickoff first through the popular FUT Champions mode - The EA Game mode that makes FIFA a full-time passion.The top competitors will qualify for two major live tournaments - held in January and April of 2018.

·      FIFA eClub World Cup: Piloted in 2017, the club tournament is back but so much bigger. If you are on a FIFA team, you want to be in it!

·      Official League Qualifying Competitions: Established professional leagues with a vision of the future will be the first to host FIFA tournaments that will feed into qualification for the FIFA eWorld Cup

·      Licensed Qualifying Competitions: Organisations passionate about EA SPORTS FIFA will activate on-site qualifiers across the world from Abu Dhabi to Zagreb!

The FIFA eWorld Cup (August 2018)

The showpiece. The main event. The place where stars are made and careers launched. The FIFA eWorld Cup Grand Final will ensure a celebration of EA SPORTS FIFA 18 at the highest level. Thirty two of the world's best players, all of whom will have survived the global series, will compete to crown the undisputed king of FIFA at the Grand Final.

 

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