Konami Digital Entertainment B.V. has confirmed that its PES League World Tour 2018 will be the official UEFA Champions League esports competition.
KONAMI has been working with the European governing football federation, UEFA, with the license agreement to recreate the UEFA Champions League for some time and the two agreed a three year extension to the exclusive deal in 2015.
Guy-Laurent Epstein, UEFA Events SA Marketing Director commented: “We look forward to this season’s PES eSports events and the opportunity it provides for gamers and viewers to further engage with the UEFA Champions League brand.”
Hideki Hayakawa, President of Konami Digital Entertainment Co., Ltd. added: “I am delighted to be able to work with UEFA for this opportunity not only to bring an exciting experience for the participating players, but to also be able to provide Football fans from all over the world an opportunity to enjoy this competition first-hand at the physical events or through live streams.“
With EA and FIFA clearly intent on pushing their esports agenda with the release of the new title, KONAMI is seemingly refusing to be left in the dust. This exclusive and official connection to the UEFA Champions League means they have a lot of opportunity to do something bold and engaging. The lack of teams with an official PES pro signed up is one challenge that KONAMI must first look to overcome.
Esports Insider says: The old enemies of FIFA and PES look set to go head to head with their esports agendas with the release of their new editions. The PES League World Tour 2018 should draw some attention as the official esports competition of the Champions League, but as to whether it garners a significant amount of views or top esports action, we’ll have to wait and see.
