18 February 2016
Gfinity plc
("Gfinity" or "the Company")
Gfinity selected by Super Evil Megacorp to stage "The Vainglory Winter Championship" finals
First competition held at Gfinity Arena to be played on mobile devices
Gfinity (AIM: GFIN), a leading eSports business, is pleased to announce that Super Evil Megacorp, a San Mateo, California, USA headquartered developer of multiplayer online battle arena games ("MOBA"), has selected Gfinity to host the finals of its Vainglory Winter Championship ("The Championship"). The Championship will be held at Gfinity Arena in London from 18 - 20 March 2016 and will be the first competition to be held there that will be played on mobile devices. Eight finalist teams from across Europe will compete for a prize money pool of $25,000.
Vainglory was launched in late 2014 and is a MOBA game similar to League of Legends and Dota 2. The game has received a number of accolades, which include an Apple Design Award in 2015, and was named as one of the "best" iOS games of 2014 by The Guardian. It is the leading touch screen eSports title with over 20 million stream views to date and remains the fastest growing mobile game on Twitch. In 2015 alone, teams competed for prize pools of approximately $350,000.
Neville Upton, Chief Executive Officer of Gfinity said: "We are delighted to be working with Super Evil Megacorp and hosting the finals of their winter championship. The success of Vainglory is evidence of increasing popularity of eSports amongst the touchscreen generation who want to compete against each other on games that combine team play with strategic thinking, skills and graphics previously seen only in PC games. This award is also further affirmation of the ability of Gfinity to deliver events across all platforms and of the Gfinity Arena's status as a prime venue for delivery of such events. We look forward to delivering a successful competition."
Heini Vesander, Marketing & Communications Director of Super Evil Megacorp stated: "Vainglory eSports scene has rapidly grown and we're very excited to organise our Winter Season 2016 Championships at the Gfinity Arena in London. We're expecting to spend 3 great days with our community, watching the best teams of Europe compete for the prize pool of $25 000."
Enquiries
Gfinity plc |
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Neville Upton, Chief Executive Officer Jonathan Hall, Finance Director |
+44 330 223 0860 |
Arden Partners plc - Nominated Adviser and Broker |
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Chris Hardie, Ciaran Walsh |
+44 20 7614 5900 |
Luther Pendragon - Public Relations |
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Harry Chathli, Alexis Gore, Oliver Hibberd |
+44 20 7618 9100 |
About Gfinity
Gfinity is a leading UK-based eSports company serving, in co-operation with games publishers, a rapidly-growing community of on-line gamers worldwide. Founded in September 2012, the Company has established a popular on-line brand, gfinity.net, where gamers can compete, socialise and enjoy a wide range of content relating to electronic games on a proprietary technology platform. This platform enables Gfinity to run a regular roster of on-line competitions, leagues and ladders with the opportunity for gamers to enter and potentially win substantial prize money and/or pit their skills against professional and widely-followed ''star'' players.
Gfinity has quickly become a widely-recognised "destination" for gamers in the UK and internationally, typically aged 18 - 34 years old. The growing user base and the demographic of Gfinity's audience, together with the sheer numbers who view Gfinity's events online, provide brand owners and advertisers with an attractive environment in which to promote their products and services, as well as offering Gfinity the opportunity to generate significant revenues over the long term. Gfinity website: www.gfinityplc.com
About eSports
The global eSports market is estimated to be worth around $747m (£504.5m), with 188 million viewers worldwide according to October 2015 figures from Superdata. Predictions for the total market worth by 2018 are $1.9bn (£1.28bn) with additional revenue expected from betting sites and amateur tournaments.
