Gfinity

Gfinity is a leading international esports business. It is listed on the London Stock Exchange Alternative Investment Market trading under LON:GFIN.

Gfinity, Plc.
Public limited company
FoundedSeptember 2012 (2012-09)
Headquarters
London
,
United Kingdom
Number of employees
20+ (2017)
Websitewww.gfinityplc.com

Formed in 2012, Gfinity provides esports advisory services and designs, develops and delivers esports experiences and winning strategies for game publishers, sports rights holders, commercial partners and media companies.

Partnerships include EA Sports[1], Formula 1[2], IndyCar[1], Activision Blizzard[1], Microsoft[3], Facebook, Amazon, and Twitch.

Gfinity connects with millions of engaged gamers each month through its website and RealSport - the company's two main distribution channels. Both platforms, supported by Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram, provide esports fans and casual gamers the opportunity to interact and share news and views.

The Gfinity community has been built over time through online tournaments, professional events and through its owned competition platform, the “Gfinity Elite Series”, which is broadcast through linear and digital channels and draws tens of millions of viewers around the world.

Gfinity’s proprietary technology platform supports scalable multi-format leagues, ladders and knock out competitions

History

2012 - 2014

Gfinity merged with The Warped Gaming League, the online league and tournament platform, in 2013.[4] It hosted G1 in July 2013, followed by G2 and G3 took place at the Copper Box at the Olympic Park in August 2014; which included a $30,000 Call of Duty, a $7,500 FIFA and a $15,000 StarCraft tournament.[5]

2015

Gfinity hosted the Call of Duty European Championships at the Royal Opera House in February 2015.[6]

Gfinity opened the first dedicated eSports Arena in early 2015 in Fulham, London.[7] when it partnered with Vue Cinemas[8] and organised over 20 offline events from the Gfinity Arena in the 2015 Gfinity Championships. Games played included Hearthstone, FIFA and Counter-Strike: Global Offensive. Over $500,000 in prize money was paid out to teams and players. The Championships attracted over 58 million views.[9]

2016

Gfinity hosted the first FIA Formula E Race Off event in January 2016[10] and in the same month delivered the Halo World Championship Tour[11] followed by the Vainglory European Winter Championship in March 2015,[12] the second year in the FIFA Play Like a Legend tournament,[13] it hosted the global reveal of Battlefield 1, premiering the official trailer and live stream from the Gfinity Arena in May 2016,[14] the $20,000 Call of Duty World League Summer Masters,[15] the Gears of War European Open tournaments and the Gillette Championship[16] in July 2016, the Serious Rainbow 6 tournament with grime MC JME[17] and the Nintendo Summer of Splat Finals[18] in September 2016. The CS:GO Invitational took place at the Eurogamer Expo in the NEC in Birmingham.[19] In December 2016, it delivered the $100,000 Gears Pro Circuit: London tournament.[20]

2017

Gfinity organised the Gears Pro Circuit: Mexico in Mexico City and Call of Duty World League London in January, the EU Halo World Championship London at the Great Hall in Wembley Stadium and the LATAM Halo World Championship in Mexico City in February and the Gears Pro Circuit: Paris in La Gaîté Lyrique in May.

In January, a partnership with Mediacom was announced.[21]

The company was selected by Microsoft[22] in April to be the exclusive tournament operator for the Forza Racing Championship 2017.[23]

2018

In 2018, Gfinity announced the appointments of two sports executives: Garry Cook as Executive Chairman, and Graham Wallace as Global Chief Operating Officer.

Gfinity signed a deal with Facebook to stream season 3 of their Elite Series exclusively on the platform, and also launched the Gfinity FIFA 18 US Spring Cup in association with EA Sports. The tournament marked growth in the North America market, with gamers from the US, Canada and Mexico eligible to enter.

In October 2018, Gfinity was appointed by the Premier League as the tournament operator of the inaugural ePremier League tournament.

In December, Gfinity hosted the finale of the F1 New Balance Esports Series, which featured three live broadcast events with 26 drivers representing 12 different nationalities. The entire series drew more than 3 million viewers via dedicated live stream and over a million viewers across TV networks.

2019

In January 2019, Gfinity announced it would be hosting the third EA FUT Champions Cup April as part of the EA SPORTS™ FIFA 19 Global Series. The tournament forms part of the journey that players will take on the road to the FIFA eWorld Cup 2019 and featured 64 of the world’s best FIFA 19 players EA Sports’ FIFA channels streamed the event to millions of fans around the world.

In April, Gfinity hosted the grand finale of the Digital Schoolhouse Esports tournament, a tournament run by UK Interactive Entertainment (UKIE) to support the use of gaming in education, at its London arena.

Gfinity hosted the Call Of Duty World League: London in April, with thousands of fans attending the tournament at London’s Copper Box Arena.

In May, Gfinity announced the appoint of John Clarke, previously Head of Global Communications at HEINEKEN N.V., as Global Brand and Marcomms Officer.

In July, Gfinity launched the inaugural Twitch Prime Crown Cup, a global celebrity gaming exhibition, created to celebrate Amazon Prime Day. Celebrities and sports stars competed on FIFA at Gfinity’s London arena.

Online tournaments

Gfinity runs tournaments on its online platform for games on PlayStation 4, Xbox and PC which are open to registered competitors, membership is free. It also hosts competitions for companies such as Activision and Microsoft and has partnered with global brands such as the FIA Formula E,[24] OMEN by HP, Gillette[25] and Virgin Media.[26]

It launched the FIFA 17 Futhead tournament in Europe, North and Latin America in June 2016 in partnership with Futhead.[27] In March 2017 the tournament expanded to PlayStation 4.

It launched the Gfinity Elite Series in March 2017 with the Challenger Series supporting CS:GO, Rocket League and Street Fighter V.[28]

References
  1. "Gfinity claims 80% revenue growth for second consecutive year - SportsPro Media". www.sportspromedia.com. Retrieved 16 April 2020.
  2. "Cook and Wallace depart Gfinity amid 'cost reduction programme'". SportBusiness. 17 March 2020. Retrieved 16 April 2020.
  3. "Gfinity's revenue growth driven by strategic client relationships". Proactiveinvestors UK. 3 April 2020. Retrieved 16 April 2020.
  4. "How Gfinity wants to establish eSports in the UK". Retrieved 27 March 2018.
  5. "Gfinity - UKs Biggest eSports Tournament Wraps-Up". 4 August 2014. Retrieved 27 March 2018.
  6. Stuart, Keith (11 February 2015). "Call of Duty European championships to be hosted by Royal Opera House". the Guardian. Retrieved 27 March 2018.
  7. "Inside the UK's first dedicated eSports arena". Retrieved 27 March 2018.
  8. "UK's first eSports arena opens in London next month". Retrieved 27 March 2018.
  9. "Gfinity blows away targets with 58m viewers in 2015". Retrieved 27 March 2018.
  10. "Senna & Prost trade cars for consoles to race fans in the next generation of gaming – Formula E". www.fiaformulae.com. Retrieved 27 March 2018.
  11. "Halo World Championship Tour: Watch all the Halo 5 action from the Gfinity Arena". 15 January 2016. Retrieved 27 March 2018.
  12. "Team Secret wins Vainglory European Winter Championship at the Gfinity Arena - Esports News UK". 22 March 2016. Retrieved 27 March 2018.
  13. Futhead. "FIFA 18 News, Information and Guides - Futhead News". Futhead - Your FIFA Community. Retrieved 27 March 2018.
  14. Skipper, Ben (7 May 2016). "Battlefield 1 interview: EA Studios EVP on World War 1 setting, single player, remasters and horses". Retrieved 27 March 2018.
  15. "$20,000 Call of Duty World League tournament taking place at the Gfinity Arena next month". Retrieved 27 March 2018.
  16. "Gillette makes smooth move into esports with Gfinity". 8 June 2016. Retrieved 27 March 2018.
  17. "Jme and Gfinity join forces for a series of gaming tournaments". Retrieved 27 March 2018.
  18. "The Splatoon Summer of Splat begins this July!". Nintendo of Europe GmbH. Retrieved 27 March 2018.
  19. "$100,000 Gfinity CS:GO Invitational". Retrieved 27 March 2018.
  20. "Recap: Gears Pro Circuit London Open - Gears of War - Official Site". gearsofwar.com. Retrieved 27 March 2018.
  21. "MediaCom partners with Gfinity". 30 January 2017. Retrieved 27 March 2018.
  22. "Gfinity exclusive partnership with Microsoft - 13 April 2017 - Stock Market Wire". www.stockmarketwire.com. Retrieved 27 March 2018.
  23. "Gfinity becomes global tournament partner for the Forza Racing Championship". Retrieved 27 March 2018.
  24. "Senna claims first Formula E Race Off title". Retrieved 27 March 2018.
  25. "GILLETTE STRIKES ESPORTS DEAL WITH GFINITY". 17 June 2016. Retrieved 27 March 2018.
  26. "Subscribe to read". Financial Times. Retrieved 27 March 2018.
  27. Futhead. "FIFA 18 News, Information and Guides - Futhead News". Futhead - Your FIFA Community. Retrieved 27 March 2018.
  28. "Street Fighter V Joins the Gfinity Challenger Series". 8 March 2017. Retrieved 27 March 2018.
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