 |
| (Image Source: Manila Insight/Champions eFootball) |
UCFC eSports, the professional gaming division of the three-time Philippines Football League (PFL) champion United City Football Club, is slated to participate in its first eSports tournament and will compete against the top clubs in Southeast Asia in Champions eFootball (CeF), the first regional eSports football tournament, which will be held from September 9 to October 7, 2021.
Aside from United City FC, vying for the CeF crown and the lion's share of the US$9,000 (approximately Php450,000) prize pool in the five-week online tilt are Buriram United FC and Chonburi FC of Thailand, Malaysia's Johor Dazul Ta'rim FC, Singapore's Tampines Rovers FC, Indonesia's Persib Bandung, Cambodia's Nagaworld FC and Vietnam's Ho Chi Minh City FC. With the support of the Asian Electronic Sports Federation (AESF), Champions eFootball will be played using Konami's eFootball Pro Evolution Soccer (PES) 2021 for the Sony PlayStation 4 in Elite (featuring professional eSports players) and Star (comprising of renouned footballers across the region) categories.
“Our vision for Champions eFootball is to provide a platform for some of the best football clubs in the world to compete at a high level while attracting younger audiences and esports enthusiasts from across the region,” said CeF CEO Yong Chul Yun. On the other hand, UCFC President Eric Gottschalk expressed, “eSports is a fast-growing and popular sport in the Philippines and we have been thinking of how to engage ourselves with eSports. This is the perfect event for us to start an eSports program especially with the big names in this region." CeF is already planning to work with various football leagues in Southeast Asia to organize local qualification tournaments in the foreseeable future. Additionally, the CeF champions will have the opportunity to go up against European football clubs soon in a similar competition.
