This week Gfinity announced that one of the biggest esports organisations in the world, Team EnVyUs, will be taking part in its upcoming Gfinity Elite Series CSGO tournament.
EnVyUs are one of five teams announced so far – out of eight – who will be participating in the Pro-Am tournament.
The other four are UK orgs Reason, Infused, xL and Prophecy.
This means up-and-coming UK players will be able to take part in the Gfinity Challenger Series and build up G-points to play in the Elite Series Draft. There, the best players can get picked up by EnVyUs to play in the Elite Series – and potentially secure a long-term contract with the org.
“We were attracted to the spirit of the Elite Series and the opportunity to discover new talent in Europe and the UK.”
Mike Rufail, Team EnVyUs
Pro teams can pick two players from the draft – for each game title – to add to their existing roster.
The inaugural Gfinity Elite Series will be held live at London’s Gfinity Arena from May 26th to July 30th 2017.
It will run across three games: CSGO, Rocket League and Street Fighter V.
While the Elite Series could pave the way for amateur players to reach the next level, Gfinity’s tournament has been marred somewhat by its decision to split news into many mini-announcements. At times its lack of transparency and interaction with the community has brought confusion to some in the UK esports scene.
Ahead of the EnVyUs announcement, some of the UK orgs not taking part in the Elite Series also expressed their concern over the tournament and how it could hinder their team rosters.
But make no mistake, this is a momentous moment for UK esports.
Comment from EnVyUs & Gfinity:
Mike Rufail, team owner at Team EnVyUs, said: “We’re very excited to be coming to London for the Gfinity Elite Series and setting up teams for CSGO, Rocket League and Street Fighter V.
“We know Gfinity will put on a world-class tournament and we were attracted to the spirit of the Elite Series and the opportunity to discover new talent in Europe and the UK specifically.”
Neville Upton, CEO at Gfinity, added: “We have delivered on our promise to make the world sit up and take more notice of the UK esports scene by adding Team EnVyUs to the Gfinity Elite Series.
“The Gfinity Elite Series is something that is set to be a staple on the global esports calendar for years to come.”
Neville Upton, Gfinity
“Team EnVyUs are a global eSports powerhouse with an engaged, fanatical following of over four million fans. Their pedigree and standing in the global esports order is unwavering and shows that we are serious about our intention to take esports in the UK to the next level.
“We are not only passionate about investing in home-grown players and teams but also ensuring that they have opportunities to compete on the world stage. Gfinity Elite Series is something that is set to be a staple on the global esports calendar for years to come and we are excited about revealing the remaining three teams for the tournament.”
Registration is open now for the Gfinity Challenger Series at www.gfinityesports.com.
The news comes after EnVyUs recently held a boot camp in London:
Dom is an award-winning writer and finalist of the Esports Journalist of the Year 2023 award. He graduated from Bournemouth University with a 2:1 degree in Multi-Media Journalism in 2007.
As a long-time gamer having first picked up the NES controller in the late ’80s, he has written for a range of publications including GamesTM, Nintendo Official Magazine, industry publication MCV and others. He worked as head of content for the British Esports Federation up until February 2021, when he stepped back to work full-time on Esports News UK and offer esports consultancy and freelance services. Note: Dom still produces the British Esports newsletter on a freelance basis, so our coverage of British Esports is always kept simple – usually just covering the occasional press release – because of this conflict of interest.
