Gfinity is adding FIFA 18 to season three of its Elite Series, which gets underway in March 2018.
This competition will also act as an EA Sports FIFA 18 Global Series qualifier, leading to the The Road to the FIFA eWorld Cup 2018 in August.
Some of the UK’s best FIFA players have already qualified for the eWorld Cup’s first tournament in January however: the FIFA Ultimate Team Champions Cup #1. They qualified through EA’s November Weekend Leagues.
FIFA joins Rocket League, Street Fighter V and CSGO in the Elite Series.
The news comes after some glitches and exploits were abused within some pockets of the FIFA 18 community.
Neville Upton, CEO of Gfinity, said: “FIFA is one of the most requested games by our teams, players and fans and we will create very engaging competition and content for our community. The upcoming season of Challenger Series is set to be the most competitive to date as we welcome new pro players to the tournament.”
Brent Koning, FIFA competitive gaming commissioner, added: “As we continue to engage millions of FIFA players in the community, and attract millions of viewers from all around the world, this year will be truly special as we see the best from the Elite Series on the Road to the FIFA eWorld Cup 2018.”
“FIFA is one of the most requested games by our teams, players and fans and we will create very engaging competition and content for our community.”
Aspiring competitive FIFA players will also have an opportunity to be drafted by one of the Elite Series teams by competing in the Gfinity Challenger Series, which kicks off on January 8th 2018.
The top 40 ranked players at the end of the six-week Challenger season will become eligible for the Elite Draft, taking place on February 23rd.
Registration is free and open to everyone via https://challenger.gfinityesports.com/.
Gfinity also said the Challenger Series has had over 20,000 18-35-year-old players participate from 18 different countries.
The UK has some top FIFA esports talent. Spencer “Gorilla” Ealing won the 2017 FIFA Interactive World Cup (FIWC) in London earlier this year.
Elsewhere, UK Tekken player Justin “KingJae” Nelson has been calling for Gfinity to add Tekken to the Elite Series.
What IF @Gfinity dabbled into @TEKKEN and done an ELITE SERIES where there was 3vs3 teams like the SFV ELITE SERIES? If your a Tekken player in the EU, RT this to show the importance and activity in the EU scene for Tekken.
— King Jae (@ItsJustinNelson) December 4, 2017
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.
