UK-based trainer and sports fashion retailer JD Sports has announced its very first esports competition, JDX.
The event will include tournaments on Fortnite, FIFA 19, and Rocket League.
Qualifiers for JDX will be held in both London and Manchester, taking place at Westfield Stratford City on July 26th and intu Trafford Centre on July 31st, respectively. Those who wish to compete in the qualifiers have to register through the JD mobile application.
36 players will progress to the next stage of the competition, with both the semifinals and finals of JDX being hosted on August 3rd at MediaCityUK dock10 in Salford. Those who win will have the opportunity to join Team JDX, take part in a training initiative in Las Vegas, and be in the company’s national ‘#IAMJD’ campaign.
Stephen White, Group Marketing Director of JD Sports commented on the venture: “Esports is a natural fit to our customers and they are central to everything that we do. Gaming has a huge reach and relevance to the JD audience and we’re delighted to be bringing our first Esports events to London, Manchester and Salford this summer.”
JD Esports isn’t the only high street store in the UK to embrace esports. Video game retailer GAME has been involved in the industry for a while, hosting events in its stores and, most recently, partnering with English organisation Excel Esports.
Esports Insider says: It’s cool to see another mainstream UK store, which is predominately frequented by a younger demographic, try to get into esports. While this is a smaller-scale project, you have to start somewhere – fingers crossed that JDX has a good a turnout!