Gfinity PLC Appointment as events partner for Halo tournament (5142R)

TIDMGFIN

RNS Number : 5142R

Gfinity PLC

12 December 2016

Dissemination of a Regulatory Announcement that contains inside information according to REGULATION (EU) No 596/2014 (MAR)

Gfinity plc

("Gfinity" or the "Company")

Gfinity to host 2 events as part of Halo World Championship 2017

Microsoft announces Gfinity as partner for events in London and Mexico City

Gfinity Plc (AIM: GFIN), a leading eSports promoter, confirms that Microsoft (NASDAQ: MSFT) has announced that Gfinity will be its event partner for the European and Latin/South American events forming part of the Halo World Championship 2017. The announcement follows on from Gfinity's appointment by Microsoft to deliver events in London, Paris and Mexico City as part of the Gears of War eSports Pro Circuit in 2016/17 and represents a further endorsement of Gfinity's status as a partner of choice to game publishers.

The EU Halo World Championship 2017 qualifier will commence with online qualifiers hosted by Gfinity, starting on 21 January 2017, building up to an open LAN (local area network) event at the Company's state of the art venue, the Gfinity Arena in Fulham Broadway, London, between 17-19 February 2017. At this event the teams will compete for a share of the $25,000 prize pot and for two qualifying places for the Halo World Championship 2017 Finals with a prize pool of $1 million.

In addition to Europe, Gfinity will also be partnering with Microsoft to deliver the qualifiers for the Latin America/ South America region. Online qualification for this will begin on 28 January 2017, building towards an open LAN event in Mexico City from 24-26 February 2017, with a $20,000 prize pool and one further place at the Halo World Championship 2017 Finals up for grabs.

Neville Upton, Chief Executive Officer of Gfinity, added: "As we continue to cement Gfinity's reputation within the thriving eSports industry, Microsoft's continued commitment to work with Gfinity is further testament to our team's world-class capability to deliver the best experiences for title holders and fans."

Enquiries:

 
 Gfinity plc                                  www.gfinityplc.com 
 Neville Upton, Chief Executive                  Via Walbrook PR 
  Officer 
 
 Allenby Capital Limited - Nominated            Tel. [phone] 
  Adviser and Broker                                        5656 
 Jeremy Porter / John Depasquale 
  / James Thomas 
 
 Walbrook PR (Media & Investor                    Tel: +44 (0)20 
  Relations)                                           7933 8780 
 Paul Cornelius / Paul Whittington     or [e-mail] 
  / Sam Allen 
 

About Gfinity:

Founded in 2012, Gfinity has quickly established itself as one of the world's leading eSports companies. The London-based business enjoys strong relationships with game publishers, players and the wider eSports community and has already built a strong reputation for delivering high quality competitions, both on-line and off-line, and producing industry leading eSports broadcasts.

The Company has over half a million registered users, eligible to compete in its online competitions and stages world leading off-line events, which see the top players in the world, across a range of eSports titles travel to the Gfinity Arena in London to take part in competitions, which are broadcast on-line to millions of viewers around the world. The Company stages events featuring a number of top video gaming titles, across PCs, consoles and mobile devices.

The Company monetises the strong position that it has created through a combination of sponsorship, advertising, broadcast income relating to Gfinity's own events and through fees received for creating and delivering bespoke events for sponsors and game publishers seeking to engage with the eSports community.

About eSports

eSports (electronic sports) is watching or playing competitive video gaming. Leading titles include League of Legends, Counter Strike: Global Offensive, Defence of the Ancients 2 (DoTA 2), Call of Duty and Rocket League. The industry is growing rapidly, with new communities developing around more and more titles. The global eSports market generated US$325 million of revenue in 2015 and is expected to make $463 million in 2016. The global eSports audience in 2015 was 226 million people, 80% under the age of 35 and 70% male (source: Newzoo). Online streaming channels Twitch and YouTube command the biggest audiences, although eSports events are also now being broadcast on conventional TV. The 2015 League of Legends Championships finals in Berlin were watched by 36 million people, with a peak concurrent viewership of 14 million viewers, while at DotA 2's flagship annual championship 'The International 2016' competitors from around the world competed for a prize pot of over $20 million.

This information is provided by RNS

The company news service from the London Stock Exchange

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December 12, 2016 02:00 ET (07:00 GMT)