In 2013, we held our first two offline events under the Gfinity name. In 2014, we put on our first eSports event in an arena, with four games on show and over 4000 fans in attendance. In 2015, we’re going all out.
We think it’s time that eSports is catapulted to the level of mainstream sports and next year we’re going to make that happen. We thought it’s about time to unveil the ground-breaking plans we have in store; plans that mean more eSports participation, more eSports exposure and a fantastic future for the community. The first piece of exciting news, and one we’ve barely been able to contain, is the official announcement of the UK’s first ever dedicated eSports arena. We thought that eSports needed its own home in the UK, so we decided to create one. Based in London, our brand new eSports arena will be a hub of competitive gaming activity, hosting live events, delivering exclusive content and allowing you, the fan, to witness it first-hand. With space for up to 500 spectators, we want YOU to come and see the heart-pounding, adrenaline-fuelled action up close and personal and over the course of the next year, you’ll be able to do just that. Tickets will be available for every arena event, more details will be released soon. So we’ve created the home of eSports in the UK, we best fill it with some events. We listened to the community, we heard what you want and what you want is more events, taking place throughout the year. We couldn’t agree more. Next year, we’ll be hosting a mind-blowing 30 offline events that will take place in an action packed season running from March to September. The season will culminate in the Gfinity Championship 2015 LAN that will take place at one of the biggest arenas in the UK, marking the event as Europe’s largest multi-title eSports event of all time. To up the ante even further, we’ll be adding to the games that you’ll see supported at Gfinity events, with a total of six eSports titles now confirmed for 2015. Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare, CS:GO, StarCraft II and FIFA are joined by new additions in HearthStone and Halo. We think it’s time that eSports players were treated like the athletes they are. To ensure that this is the case, we’re proud to announce that all travel and accommodation costs for the Gfinity Masters Tournaments will be paid for by Gfinity. To ensure that every single eSports fanatic gets to enjoy the Gfinity experience, as part of the schedule of 30 events, we’ll also be hosting six Gfinity Opens throughout the season. The Gfinity Opens will allow players of all ability levels to compete for pride and prizes at the Gfinity Arena, with ticket prices reflecting our commitment to the development of eSports at a grassroots level.
What’s at stake over the course of the 30 week season? We’re glad you asked. We’re committing over $500,000 in prize money for the Gfinity 2015 calendar of events; that’s three times as much as 2014!Check out the schedule of events below:
We will be releasing the prizepools for all Gfinity Opens in early 2015. These events will give every gamer the opportunity to take part in a top class eSports LAN tournament, details of how to participate and tickets will be released at the same time as the prizepools.
The more eagle-eyed amongst you will have noticed that currently there are no Halo Masters or Open listed on our schedule, don’t worry we’ve not dropped our support for the game! We’re currently working on the dates for those events and will release them in the coming weeks.
We are delighted to confirm that Gfinity Call of Duty tournaments will now incorporate the Pro Points system for the purposes of seeding and qualification for Gfinity tournaments.
Pro Points WILL be a determining factor in whether teams qualify for an invitation to Gfinity Masters.
Pro Points will be on offer in 2015 from January for all online Call of Duty tournaments and each Gfinity Masters and Open for Call of Duty in 2015 will offer a substantial number of Pro Points to be won alongside the huge prizepools.
If you didn't catch the original announcement video below then take a look and be prepared to get excited!
2015 is shaping up to be the biggest year that we, as Generation eSports, have ever seen. We’re excited to be part of it, we hope you are too.