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.
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The first eSports Series world champion will automatically qualify
for the following year's semi-finals.
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) [© 2017 Thomson Reuters. All
rights reserved.]
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