logo-loader

Gfinity scores Premier League egaming tournament deal

Published: 00:20 05 Oct 2018 AEST

1538663532_shutterstock_148268102
Gfinity will give gamers the chance to represent their favourite Premier League teams and players for the first time

International esports group Gfinity PLC (LON:GFIN) has sealed a deal with the Premier League to become the official tournament operator of the inaugural ePremier League video game tournament, sending its shares soaring.

Under the term of the deal, Gfinity will develop and manage the online qualification for the tournament on its proprietary tournament management platform.

READ: To Gfinity and beyond …

"Gfinity is pleased to be appointed tournament operator bringing its knowledge of e-sports management and the gaming community to make this competition an unparalleled success,” Gfinity’s chairman Garry Cook said in a statement.

The ePL starts in January 2019 with every Premier League club represented, giving UK-based players the chance to compete for and represent their favourite Premier League club for the first time ever in competitive gaming.

Players will compete for three months across three rounds: online qualification, live club playoffs and the eventual live ePL Final. All 20 Premier League clubs will have a live playoff round allowing two EA SPORTS FIFA 19 competitors, one per PlayStation 4 and Xbox One, a final shot to advance to the Final. Registrations for the tournament will open in December 2018.

The AIM-listed company said it would host the final round at London’s Gfinity Arena in March 2019. The finals will be broadcast live on Sky Sports and Premier League social media channels.

In an era when the likes of Sky PLC (LON:SKY) are seeing traditional sports viewership numbers fall, esports is one of the few ‘sports’ that is growing (and pretty quickly, too), its fan base.

Like traditional sports fans do with their football or rugby teams, people – generally the younger generations – are paying money to watch their favourite video games being played by their favourite esports teams.

Shares in Gfinity were 18% up at 12.40p in late afternoon trade.

Gfinity PLC's progress being reflected in revenue with 82% growth

Proactive Research analyst Ed Stacey says the recent strong results from Gfinity (LON:GFIN) reflect the strategic initiatives undertaken by the new executive team since 2018. Stacey says the firm recently reported full-year June 2019 results in line with the upgraded trading update issued in...

on 31/10/19