Formula One launches
eSports world championship
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[August 21, 2017]
By Alan Baldwin
LONDON (Reuters) - Formula One will crown
its first virtual world champion at the season-ending Abu Dhabi Grand
Prix after announcing on Monday the launch of an eSports series to run
from September to November.
The new eSports Series is a partnership with Formula One, game developer
Codemasters and events and competitions specialists Gfinity.
The series will be in three stages, starting with qualification events
through September to determine the 40 quickest virtual drivers, and run
on PlayStation4, Xbox One and Windows PC platforms.
Live semi-finals will be held at London's Gfinity Arena on Oct. 10-11
with the top 20 going on to the three-race finals at Abu Dhabi's Yas
Marina circuit on Nov. 24-25.
The first eSports Series world champion will automatically qualify for
the following year's semi-finals.
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Formula One managing director Sean Bratches said in a statement that the
new series represented "an amazing opportunity for our business:
strategically and in the way we engage fans."
U.S.-based Liberty Media, who took over Formula One in January, have
targeted gaming as a growth area to drive revenues and connect with
younger audiences.
Some of Formula One's participants are already embracing the world of
eSports, with McLaren executive director Zak Brown saying all teams
could eventually have their own virtual counterpart.
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Formula One - F1 - Hungarian Grand Prix - Budapest, Hungary - July
30, 2017 Ferrari's Sebastian Vettel leads at the start of the race.
REUTERS/Laszlo Balogh
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McLaren, going through tough times but still the second most successful team in
terms of race wins, launched in May a "World's Fastest Gamer" initiative to
recruit a simulator driver from virtual racing.
Several race drivers, including Red Bull's Dutch teenager Max Verstappen, are
also active gamers.
The all-electric Formula E series has already staged a virtual race between all
of its drivers and gamers. The winner in Las Vegas last January was Dutch
virtual racer Bono Huis, who collected a $200,000 jackpot.
In New York in July, Formula E livestreamed over mobile phones a virtual race
between gamers and race drivers for fans around the world to watch.
(Editing by Peter Rutherford)
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