Formula 1 is finally tapping into the growing eSports market and it has chosen Gfinity PLC (LON:GFIN) as its official partner to help deliver its upcoming ESports Series.
The competition – which gets underway next month – will see gamers from around the globe compete to become the number one virtual F1 driver.
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AIM-quoted Gfinity’s job will be to use its experience and market-leading technology to deliver a successful and seamless event that will help to grow F1’s popularity among its younger fan base.
Shareholders saw a positive response, with Gfinity's shares up nearly 6%, or 1,25p at 22.25p in late afternoon trading.
Formula 1 is just the latest ‘prestigious organisation’ to entrust the running of its competition with Gfinity; Microsoft often uses the company to host its eSports tournaments.
'A powerful endorsement'
“Formula 1 entering esports is a powerful endorsement to how vital it is for cutting edge organisations to consider esports in their digital offering in order to reach the elusive and lucrative millennial fan base,” said Gfinity chief executive Neville Upton.
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“Gfinity has developed a unique & proprietary technical platform, which coupled with our in depth experience enable us to deliver a world-class turnkey solution for our global partners.”
“Sean Bratches, managing director, commercial operations at Formula 1, added: “This launch presents an amazing opportunity for our business: strategically and in the way we engage fans.
“It's a growing category with tremendous fan engagement that we're entering in a big way; and we are proud to have Codemasters and Gfinity joining us on this ride.”
READ: Gfinity well-placed to take advantage of the eSports boom
Lights out in September
The ESports Series kicks off with a qualification round in September followed by the semi-finals on 10 and 11 October which will be broadcast live from the Gfinity Arena in London.
The top 20 semi-finalists will then jet off to Abu Dhabi for the final which will be held on the 24 and 25 November – the same weekend as the last 2017 Formula 1 Championship race.
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