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Gfinity has announced Monday that it has signed an exclusive deal with Facebook to stream digital broadcasts of its Gfinity Elite Series with the social platform throughout 2018.
The arrangement covers the UK Elite Series but also any new territories that Gfinity expands into, with the exception of the already established Australian Elite Series. The digital broadcast will comprise of a mix of live tournament gameplay but also behind the scenes segments involving the teams, players and numerous special guests from outside the esports world.
The first announced guest star, mentioned in the press release, is Adebayo Akinfenwa, a professional footballer known as The Beast. He’ll be hosting Game-On FIFA 18, a magazine-style show that will take place each Wednesday throughout the season.
Neville Upton, CEO, Gfinity plc says: “Facebook is a leading global brand with over 2 billion people on the platform and this partnership brings to life their commitment to drive innovation and engagement in esports with their huge gaming community. This pioneering deal will enable us to accelerate our plans for growth into new markets to reach our Gfinity World Series goal.“
Patrick Chapman, manager of esports partnerships at Facebook, added: “The Gfinity Elite Series has quickly established itself as one of the leading productions and innovative leagues in esports globally. We are excited to welcome the Gfinity team and support them in their international expansion to build one of the most dynamic and exciting esports leagues in the world.”
The bigger pool of teams taking part this week has led to a change in format. The teams have been split into two groups, and the top three teams from each will go through to a final knock-out stage.
