UNILAD Esports team to to join Elite Series

RNS Number : 6517E

Gfinity PLC

13 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")

UNILAD Esports to compete in third season of the Gfinity Elite Series

Global media giant to create new esports teams ahead of March debut

Gfinity plc (AIM: GFIN), a leading international esports entertainment group, announces that UNILAD Esports ("UNILAD"), backed by its global media namesake, has acquired a place for its team to compete in the third season of the Gfinity Elite Series taking place at the Gfinity Esports Arena in London in March and April 2018.

Under owners Liam Harrington and Sam Bentley, the British internet media company and website UNILAD has developed into a large media network that creates and licenses original content.   UNILAD was named the top Facebook page and online video channel in the world in 2016.  The page has 50 million fans across the world that view over four billion pieces of content across its network. As part of an agreement with Gfinity, UNILAD will host content from the third season of the Gfinity Elite Series across multiple channels during the eight weeks of competition.

The directors of Gfinity believe that UNILAD acquiring a place on the Elite Series is further evidence of the  pre-eminent status the competition has already achieved in UK esports, while the ability of UNILAD to drive content to their audience will strengthen this position further. This signing demonstrates the success of the franchise opportunity that Gfinity has created for teams and investors.  The inclusion of UNILAD alongside such global esports giants as Fnatic, Envy, Vitality and Hashtag meanwhile will create fantastic exposure for commercial partners aiming to maximise the potential for sponsorship and broadcast revenues in the future.    

UNILAD comprises its primary channel as well as nine media channels that specialise in sport, technology, travel, and other topics. Its esports operation has some of the best global talent including Spencer 'Gorilla' Ealing, the current FIFA Interactive World Cup champion.

Neville Upton, Chief Executive of Gfinity, said: "The signing of UNILAD combined with the strength of its global audience will enable the Gfinity Elite Series to attract new fans and become an even more exciting proposition for commercial partners and inventors. The Gfinity Elite Series roster features some of the biggest teams and best players from around the world and with their combined reach and our passionate fanbase, we will create an event that will rival any of the global tournaments."

Liam Harrington, CEO of UNILAD,  said: "We're really excited that UNILAD Esports is joining the roster for the upcoming Gfinity Elite Series. The Gfinity Elite Series is the perfect tournament for our global audience to engage with the best esports content and get more fans involved in the action. We look forward to supporting our players over the competition and working with Gfinity."

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 UNILAD

Established in 2014, UNILAD is the largest social first publisher - with over 40 billion video views and 1bn engagements in 2017 - the brand has developed into the most engaged and viewed channel in the world. UNILAD has grown from a single Facebook channel and website for the social generation into a highly-engaged suite of verticals catering for passions and interests such as tech and gaming. Initially only licensing viral content, UNILAD has now evolved into a leading original content producer, blending the best viral videos with exclusive content built for social and becoming one of the fastest growing media properties in the world.

For more information visit http://uniladgroup.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.

 

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