The eFootball Championship Open opened on Monday. Konami’s amateur competition is designed to help players make the leap into the professional realm of eSports.
With the realignment of the eSports ecosystem as part of the shift from PES to eFootball, Konami has launched a new format: the eFootball Championship. This is divided into two parts – professional and amateur. In the professional eFootball Championship Pro, AS Monaco recently secured the title in the premiere edition.
An integral part of the Monaco team was Lucas ‘Nekza’ Lorge, who became the competition’s top scorer and MVP. Yet the 18-year-old was only just making his professional debut in 2022.
‘Nekza’ as an example of success
‘Nekza’ had played his way onto AS’s radar as part of the 2021 eFootball Open, where he finished fifth. The transition from amateur to professional is usually fluid in eSports, and even institutionalised in eFootball. In 2022, too, quite a few ambitious amateur players will be able to put themselves in the limelight.
Because the second part of the eFootball Championship – the eFootball Championship Open – kicked off on Monday. The open series entices all eFootball users with the chance of the big stage and a subsequent contract with one of the clubs competing in the eFootball Championship Pro.
Three rounds to the finals
24 players will have the chance to present themselves in the World Finals on 13 and 14 August, with three previous rounds determining the finalists. First, the Challenge Event will take place until 3 July, in which a certain number of goals must be scored and points collected in eFootball 2022 matches.
Between 7 and 11 July, the Ranking Event will take over, in which the best eight players in each of the three regions “Europe and Africa”, “Americas” and “Asia and Oceania and other regions” will be determined. These qualify for round three on 30 and 31 July and thus for the Tournament Event.
For the first time on four platforms
There, the best duo from eight players per region will enter the World Finals. The eFootball Championship Open is also divided up according to platform: For the first time, players can take part on PlayStation, Xbox, mobile devices and via Steam. The six finalists per platform will be divided into two groups.
The two group winners will then compete in the Grand Final. The decision of the World Finals will be broadcast live on 14 August on the official YouTube channel of eFootball and accompanied. The matches will be played exclusively with players from a club in the eFootball Championship Pro – a kind of preparation for some people.
