Leicester Haymarket Theatre and ESL will be hosting a big PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds EU Qualifiers tournament this summer, with an ‘ambitious’ 80-player stage setup.
The best European PUBG teams will be competing for a share of the $100,000 prize pool, as well as three spots in the prestigious PUBG Global Invitational (PGI) 2018.
Those final rounds in the EU Qualifiers will see 20 teams compete in 15 matches across three days, and will be presented by ESL before a live audience.
The top three squads will each earn a place at PGI 2018, which will take place in Berlin in from July 25th to 29th. They will then face off against the best teams from across the world for a $2m prize pool.
“PGI is an absolute phenomenon and we are excited to execute an ambitious 80-player stage setup that befits the scale of the game”
James Dean, ESL UK
Phase two will see the remaining 320 teams do battle, with their matches scheduled to run from May 19th to 27th. Those clashes will determine the teams that will advance to the offline qualifiers. The first-round matches will be broadcasted by ESL on Twitch, and you will be able to watch them on Twitch here.
The Haymarket Theatre is a 900-seat venue in the heart of Leicester. This will be the second ESL event to be hosted at the venue.
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Twenty of Europe’s best teams will battle it out LIVE from the Haymarket Theatre in Leicester for their share of $100,000 and, more importantly, a place in the @PUBG Global Invitational! #PGI2018
? https://t.co/ttmYhRYuQJ pic.twitter.com/lhQQXbvU0l— ESL PUBG (@ESLPUBG) May 19, 2018
“We’re honoured to present the first official PGI european qualifiers in the UK,” said James Dean, Managing Director, ESL UK.
“PGI is an absolute phenomenon and we are excited to execute an ambitious 80-player stage setup that befits the scale of the game!”
“We are thrilled to find the best PUBG squads in Europe to compete in Berlin at our first truly global esports undertaking, PGI 2018,” added Alex Nam, Head of EMEA Business, PUBG Corp. “We can’t wait for the community to be part this process with us at every step along the way.”
PUBG has seen its esports activities increase over the past year, with competitions such as the Gamescom PUBG tournament, Intel Extreme Masters and more.
Tickets for the PUBG EU Qualifiers live finals will be available starting May 19th 11am BST from the Haymarket Theatre’s website here.
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.
