Leading Nordic esports team to join Elite Series

RNS Number : 3786E

Gfinity PLC

09 February 2018

 

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

Gfinity plc

("Gfinity" or the "Company")

Leading Nordic esports team to compete in third season of Elite Series

Nordavind, formerly BX3, becomes the latest franchise to join the third season of the esports tournament

Gfinity plc (AIM: GFIN), a leading international esports entertainment group, announces that Nordavind, a Norweigian esports team formed in partnership with one of Norway's biggest football teams, Vålerenga Fotball AS ("Vålerenga"), will join the third season of the Gfinity Elite Series taking place at the Gfinity Arena in London next month.

Founded in 2011, and previously known as BX3, Nordavind has quickly become one of the top teams in Norwegian esports and represents one of the largest esports investments in the region. The partnership between Vålerenga and successful Norwegian businessman Tor Olav Trøim from Magni Sports, the company that owns Vålerenga and an 80% stake in Nordavind, is believed to incorporate the best professional esports talent the Nordic region has to offer.

The directors of Gfinity believe that the introduction of Nordavind and the recently added Hashtag United and Ares teams to the Elite Series' third season is further testament of Gfinity's commitment to creating the best esports events in the UK by signing the strongest teams who will compete for their share of the £250,000 prize pool. As the Elite Series continues to evolve, the increase to 10 teams, all now signed up, will give Gfinity greater opportunity to deliver further growth in terms of reach and engagement with gamers around the world who watch each week via streaming platforms, social channels and linear TV.    

Neville Upton, Chief Executive of Gfinity, said: "Nordavind will bring another huge boost to the Elite Series with their passionate fans from across the esports and regular football scene, alongside their own roster of top talent. With a little over a month to go, we couldn't be more focused. We have re-shaped the Elite Series, increased the number of teams and everything is in place for us to deliver the most competitive Elite Series to date."

Steffen Willumsen, Commercial Manager of Nordavind AS, said: "To reach the international stage is a goal we have been working hard towards for the last seven years, and therefore joining Gfinity's Elite Series is a real milestone for us. We have brought with us a talented team of people with different skill sets and competence and we very much look forward to getting underway on opening night."

Elite Series

The Gfinity Challenger Series, which gives the opportunity for players to compete for selection for the Elite Series, has had over 20,000 18-35-year-old gamers participate from 18 different countries. Season One of the Elite Series created 180 hours of live broadcast viewed by over three million people in more than 30 countries, with Elite Series Season Two receiving over five million live views, giving a combined total of nine million views for the first two seasons. 

Having increased the number of teams competing in the third season to 10, Nordavind joins new teams including: Hashtag United, Team Vitality, Fnatic, and Ares, together with an existing roster featuring major esports franchises such as Team Envy and Epsilon. The teams will compete head-to-head on EA SPORTS FIFA 18, Rocket League and Street Fighter V. Season Three of the Elite Series is scheduled to start on Friday 9 March 2018.

Enquiries:

Gfinity plc	www.gfinityplc.com
Neville Upton, Chief Executive Officer	Via Walbrook PR
Allenby Capital Limited - AIM Nominated Adviser and Joint Broker	Tel: [phone]
Jeremy Porter / John Depasquale / James Thomas
Shore Capital - Joint Broker	Tel: [phone]
Patrick Castle
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 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 Nordavind

Nordavind is a Nordic esports organisation located in Oslo, Norway. Founded in 2017 under the ownership of Magni Sports AS and New Meta AS, and in collaboration with Vålerenga Football AS, Nordavind has inherited the legacy of former Norwegian e-sports club, BX3. The organisation shares facilities with its football club counterpart at the Intility Arena.

Suscribing to a line of thought coined 'Downloaded Minimalism', Nordavind strives to harmonise traditional Scandinavian design virtues with iconic imagery and technological shrewdness while bridging the gap between traditional and electronic sports.

Humble, confident, competent - speak softly and carry a big stick.

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.

 

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