English football club West Ham United, in partnership with Basset & Gold, will launch a $32,800 (£25,000) FIFA 19 tournament open to the public.
The Basset & Gold eSports Cup will feature online qualifiers with the top 16 players on PS4 and Xbox One invited to the grand finals at West Ham’s London Stadium in November. The winner will ultimately walk away with $13,121 (£10,000) in prize money.
According to the announcement, West Ham United was the first British team to sign an esports player in 2016, with the London Stadium as the first to host an esports tournament with professional clubs.
Karim Virani, West Ham United’s Commercial and Digital Director said: “West Ham United were the first Premier League team to move into esports a few years ago and it continues to be an important part of our strategy moving forward. As part of that strategy, we’re hugely excited to join forces with our Official esports partner Basset & Gold in this search for the UK’s best FIFA19 player. London Stadium is, of course, the place to see some of the best footballers in the Premier League and we now look forward to welcoming some of the most talented FIFA19 players from across the UK.”
West Ham partnered with Basset & Gold back in July and have done many activations with the likes of Ninjas in Pyjamas.
Esports Insider says: A new iteration of FIFA brings about a new wave of competitive play. West Ham United are not only involved in the latest round of official FIFA events, but they’ve also launched their own event. The fact the former Olympic Games venue happens to also now be the home of West Ham United, means esports has another venue to add to its ever-growing list.