F1 EsportsSeries kicks off an official Chinese competitionThe Chinesemarket slated to grow to $210 million in 2019Nearly allF1 franchises now have an esports team
F1Esports is hosting the China Championship, the first attempt of thedigital racing competition to break into the Chinese market.
F1 Esports Series Turns Its Look on China andAsia
Following thesuccess of F1 Esports Series, the organization is expandingits clout in Asia, introducing the competition to China,one of the main esports markets in the region. A fresh national eventwill be hosted in August and it will continue until the end ofthe year.
The so-called ChinaChampionship will begin withqualifiers, which will promote capable SIM racers to the regionalfinals, which will then be followed by the Grand Finale featuring asmany as 100 players from the entire country competing for the title.
The F1 New Balance Esports Series is heading to China! ??
Local racers will compete in the China Championship for a spot in the 2020 Pro Draft and a chance to join an F1 team ? #F1Esportshttps://t.co/e67o2egtrM
— Formula 1 (@F1) July 25, 2019
Oncethe competition is wrapped up, the winner of the event will begranted an access to the 2020 F1 Esports Pro Draft aswell as an opportunity to be signed up by an official Formula Onefranchise. McLaren,Mercedes-AMG, andmost r lodi777 ecently Ferrari,are just some of the names that now field an esports team.
A Global Recognition
Despitesome scepticism at first, the Formula One Esports Serieshave taken the world by storm,and since the time it first launched in 2017, by 2019, thecompetition has seen as many as 110,000-odd gamers participate.
Respondingto the increased interest, the competition has boosted its prize poolto $500,000 in April,2019, which is doublewhat last season’s event offered. The expansion in China is not achance thing either, with the competition expected to operate in oneof the wealthiestesports market.
Basedon research data, the Chinese esports market could be worth$210million in 2019.This means that Formula One Esports will want to move in the country,giving access to potentially the largest esports demographic in theworld.
Commentingon the importance of the market, Formula One Esports HeadJulian Tan had the following to say:
“China is an incredibly important market to Formula One and webelieve there is massive potential to grow the passion for motorsportand cultivate the love for F1 as a sport in this region through F1Esports, particularly amongst our next generation of fans.”
Olivia Xue from Juss Intellisports, representing the companythat will act as an official sponsor of the competition in China, hasalso shared her enthusiasm:
“We will witness recordsto be made and broken and will wish all aspirants great luck. Chinais the first country or region to participate in F1 Esports Seriesglobally and we are fully confident that the tournament will be asuccess this year.”
Meanwhile, F1 Esports Serieshas been doing well in the west with Ferrari becoming the latestmainstream franchise to join the competitive video gaming space.McLaren has also renewed“The Shadow Project” aimed at recruiting top SIM driverstalent.
