ESL R1 2023 Fall Season: Drivers, teams, broadcast talent, prize pool, schedule, dates and format confirmed

The ESL R1 2023 Fall Season begins on August 31st 2023 – here’s everything you need to know about the sim racing tournament.  

The second season of the virtual racing esports league, ESL R1 (first announced at the start of the year), starts on August 31st to September 1st with its Round 1, and concludes later this year with the ESL R1 Fall Major from November 24th to 26th at DreamHack Winter in Jönköping, Sweden.

The drivers and teams will be fighting for a stake of a €225,000 prize pool (full breakdown below), which is set to be distributed across the Team Championship and the Driver Championship, celebrating the best competing teams and individual racers respectively.

Furthermore, the one to take home the top spot in the Driver Championship will be crowned the one and only Champion of the ESL R1 2023 Fall Season.

Viewers tuning in live across the season also have the chance to obtain a code for the Rennsport beta. Without further ado, here’s the driver line-up and more, featuring a host of British talent.

ESL R1 2023 Fall Season Drivers and Teams

UK drivers include the likes of James Baldwin, Graham Carroll, Robbie Stapleford, Luke Bennett, Jack Keithley, Isaac Price, Sebastian Job, Jamie Fluke, Kevin “Kev” Ellis, Jr, Ibraheem Khan and more.

Mercedes-AMG Petronas Esports Team
Car type: Mercedes               

1. James Baldwin
2. Bono Huis
3. Marko Pejić
4. Graham Carroll

Porsche Coanda Esports Racing Team
Car type: Porsche                  

1. Joshua Rogers
2. Mitchell DeJong
3. Dayne Warren
4. Mack Bakkum

BMW M Team BS+Competition
Car type: BMW                      

1. Ryan “Ryan” Barneveld
2. Ferris “Ferris” Stanley
3. Ibraheem “ibrah” Khan
4. Pedro “BMWPedro” Sanchez

FaZe Clan
Car type: Porsche                  

1. Ian “Crimsix” Porter
2. Matti Sipilä
3. Gianmarco Fiduci
4. Cem Bolukbasi

FURIA
Car type: BMW          

1. Caique “Oliveira” Oliveira
2. Gustavo “Ariel” Ariel
3. Lasse “Sørensen” Sørensen
4. Lasse “Bak” Bak

G2 Esports
Car type: BMW                      

1. Robbie Stapleford
2. Eamonn Murphy
3. Sebastian “Sebi” Job
4. Isaac “Isaac” Price

HEROIC
Car type: Porsche                  

1. Tommy Østgaard
2. Mikkel Gade
3. Tuomas Tähtelä
4. Oskar Biksrud

MOUZ
Car type: Audi

1. Maximilian Benecke
2. Moritz Löhner
3. Patrik Holzmann
4. Yuri Kasdorp

Team Redline
Car type: BMW          

1. Luke Bennett
2. Kevin Siggy
3. Jeffrey Rietveld
4. Enzo Bonito

R8G eSports
Car type: Audi            

1. Marcell Csincsik
2. Erhan Jajovski
3. Jiri Toman
4. Thibault Cazaubon

Mercedes-AMG Williams Esports Team
Car type: Mercedes               

1. Dáire McCormack
2. Jack Keithley
3. Nikodem Wisniewski
4. Jacub Brzeziński

Mercedes-AMG E-Sports Team ART
Car type: Mercedes               

1. Niklas Houben
2. Kevin “Kev” Ellis, Jr.
3. Jamie “Jamie” Fluke
4. Yohann “Yohann” Harth

ESL R1 2023 Fall Season Broadcast talent / casters

• Main Host: Jasmine “Veracity” Kanuga
  • British presenter across a range of a esports, known for being a Counter-Strike: Global Offensive host
• Co-HostBack-Up Host: Rory “EERIEISSSS” Alexander
  • Previously worked as a pitlane reporter for ESL R1 at Gamers8, whilst also being a popular British virtual racing YouTuber and Streamer, covering a variety of titles.
• Main Commentator: Lewis McGlade
  • An award-winning virtual racing commentator from the United Kingdom, previously covering events such as ESL R1, Le Mans Virtual, and RaceSpot TV
• Main Commentator: George Morgan
  • The Welsh lead commentator for GT Sport Organización, FRECA, F1 Esports, and ESL R1
• Co-Commentator: Ewan O’Leary
  • British commentator known for events such as ESL R1, RaceSpot TV, and VCO Esports, and previously commentating for ESL R1 at Gamers8

ESL R1 2023 Fall Season prize pool

The total prize pool of €225,000 for the ESL R1 2023 Fall Season will be distributed among the top six teams in the Team Championship and the top 12 drivers in the Driver Championship. 

Additionally, there will also be a Content Reward prize for the top three teams, awarding those creating the best content across the season.

Furthermore, as part of the ESL R1 2023 Fall Season, the top three drivers of each round will also be eligible for a cash prize. First place grants €1,000, second place earns €400, and finally, third place will see the driver taking home €150. For Round 8, the first-place driver will win €1,100 for taking the top position.

ESL R1 2023 Fall Season schedule and format

Set across eight rounds and ending with the ESL R1 2023 Fall Major, the Fall Season begins later this week with Round 1 during which the new points system will be revealed.

Fans will also be able to tune into the Fall Season Knockouts, which will be streamed on Thursdays by trusted community streamers PabloGz205, Valhovamp, GutoColvera, and GeorgeMorgan, with the rest of the season being broadcast on the official ESL R1 Twitch and YouTube channels.

• Round 1: August 31 – September 1
• Round 2: September 7 – 8
• Round 3: September 21 – 22
• Round 4: September 28 -29
• Round 5: October 5 – 6
• Round 6: October 26 -27
• Round 7: November 2 – 3
• Round 8: November 9 – 10
• ESL R1 2023 Fall Major: November 24 -26

Fans looking forward to experiencing the action live during the 2023 Fall Major in Jönköping, Sweden, can purchase a ticket for DreamHack Winter as all tickets to the festival grant access to the virtual racing competition.

There’s more info on the ESL R1 website and you can grab DreamHack Winter 2023 tickets here

Dom Sacco

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.