ESL FACEIT Group (EFG), the leading eSports and video game entertainment company, and the International Basketball Federation (FIBA) today announced the 61 nations participating in the second season of eFIBA, FIBA’s official NBA 2K24 tournament. Beginning October 3, national federations across seven regional areas will battle it out in the pro-am game mode to secure a spot in the first-ever in-person eFIBA World Finals at DreamHack Winter and a share of the €50,000 prize pool.

“After a successful inaugural season and eFIBA’s successful participation in The Olympic Esports Series, we are prepared to make the upcoming eFIBA Season 2 a landmark international event,” the Media and Marketing Services Director General for FIBA, Frank Leenders, said. “eFIBA allows us to reach new basketball enthusiasts and build a global community of players and fans who share a passion for the game.”

eFIBA Season 2 is more than doubling its participating federations and expanding its competition schedule. The event includes online regional qualifiers from October 3 to November 2 and regional finals from November 7 to 9 across South East Asia, Oceania, Middle East, Africa, North America, South America and Europe. The winning nation from each regional final and the top two from Europe will secure a spot in the eFIBA Season 2 World Finals 2023, taking place live at the immersive gaming lifestyle festival, DreamHack Winter, from November 25 to 26 in Elmia, Jonkoping, Sweden.

“The significant growth of participating national federations and the incredible feedback we have received from players and the community shows that eFIBA is on the right track to become a great offering to the NBA2K community,” the Sports Games President for EFG, Roger Lodewick, said. “Together with FIBA, we have crafted a bold and innovative sporting concept that serves the eSports community and connects with basketball fans. We are thrilled to tip off the second season.”

• EFG and FIBA announce the 61 national federations participating in Season 2 of eFIBA, the international NBA 2K24 competition.
• Tipping off on October 3, Season 2 of eFIBA includes six weeks of online regional qualifiers and regional finals for a spot in the first-ever, in-person eFIBA World Finals, taking place at DreamHack Winter in Elmia, Jonkoping, Sweden.
• Nations across South East Asia, Oceania, Middle East, Africa, North America, South America and Europe will battle it out for a share of the €50,000 prize pool and Regional Champion title.
• New to Season 2, eFIBA’s co-streaming program, will feature content creators, streamers and casters collaborating to grow the eFIBA community.

Below is a breakdown of the national representatives in each regional area.

Europe (26): Albania, Austria, Belgium, Croatia, Cyprus, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Great Britain, Greece, Israel, Italy, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Montenegro, Poland, Portugal, Serbia, Slovakia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, The Netherlands, Turkey and Ukraine

Africa (14): Algeria, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Ivory Coast, DR Congo, Egypt, Gabon, Ghana, Mali, Morocco, Senegal, Tunisia, Zimbabwe and Nigeria
North America (6): Barbados, Cayman Islands, Dominican Republic, Guatemala, Puerto Rico and the United States of America

Southeast Asia (5): India, Indonesia, Mongolia, Philippines and Singapore

South America (4): Argentina, Brazil, Uruguay and Venezuela

Oceania (2): Guam and New Zealand

Middle East (4): Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Lebanon

eFIBA Co-Streaming

This season, eFIBA actively works with the NBA2K community through collaborations with creators around the globe as well as co-streamers of eFIBA events with a suite of customizable resources including unprecedented access to gameplay feeds, overlays, opportunities to interview players and more. The suite of streaming tools is open to community streamers, who can apply for exclusive access.

Commencing October 3, the regional qualifiers and regional finals of eFIBA Season 2 as well as the eFIBA World Finals will be streamed on Tuesdays and Thursdays on eFIBA’s Twitch and YouTube channels and on FIBA’s Twitch and YouTube channels. Those looking to experience the action live can look forward to attending DreamHack Winter as tickets to the festival also grant access to the international NBA 2K24 competition. More information about the ticket types and prices can be found on the official DreamHack Winter website.

For more information around eFIBA, visit the official channels on X (Twitter), Instagram and TikTok. For more general information, visit eslfaceitgroup .com or follow ESL FACEIT Group on LinkedIn.

• Registrations for the UK qualifiers for Red Bull Campus Clutch 2023 are open now and set to take place across two days on October 14 and 21
• Red Bull Campus Clutch offers the chance to UK students to play competitively at the international level and play against the best student eSports teams in the world
• UK National Finals will take place across two days on November 4 to 5 at the Red Bull Gaming Sphere in London
• The winning team of the UK Final will be invited on an all-expenses covered trip to Istanbul, where they will compete against top international teams to be crowned the best student Valorant team in the world
• Taking place at the Volkswagen Arena in Istanbul, Turkey, the World Final will be held from November 19 to 24
• The UK Finals will be streamed live on Twitch via The Goose House channel
• Jack Link’s is the Official Protein Provider for Red Bull Campus Clutch UK
• Qualifiers for UK teams looking to compete in Red Bull Campus Clutch are open for registration via the Red Bull website

Red Bull Campus Clutch, the global student Valorant tournament, has returned to the United Kingdom (UK) for its third season. Registrations are now open for UK student squads seeking the chance to represent their campus and fight for the opportunity to compete on the world stage. The tournament gives a chance to UK students dreaming of playing eSports competitively an opportunity to showcase their abilities on the global stage, potentially getting scouted to play for professional eSports teams.

UK qualifiers will take place online over two days on Saturday, October 14, and Saturday, October 21. The best four teams from each qualifier will then compete offline in the UK Final at the Red Bull Gaming Sphere in London across two days on November 4 to 5. The UK Finals will be live-streamed via Twitch on The Goose House.

UK student teams will be fighting it out to follow in the footsteps of Casa Noturna, who last year beat other student teams and were invited to play in the World Finals in Sao Paolo, Brazil. This season, the winning team of the UK final will receive an all-expenses covered invitation to the Red Bull Campus Clutch World Final, a LAN tournament held in Istanbul, Turkey, where they will represent their country and fight to be crowned Red Bull Campus Clutch World Champions. This season, from November 19 to 24, the final event will take place offline at the Volkswagen Arena in Istanbul, which hosted Valorant Champions 2022 where LOUD clinched the title of VCT World Champion.

Entering its third season, Red Bull Campus Clutch along with Red Bull Home Ground, the premier pro Red Bull event for Valorant, encapsulates the brand´s continued commitment to support the Valorant community and uplift its competitive ecosystem, from a grassroots level with an array of local initiatives to the very highest echelons of eSports. Since 2021, Red Bull Campus Clutch has hosted over 800 tournaments, with 25,000 participants in the first season and 30,000 in the second.

Three outstanding partners are supporting Red Bull Campus Clutch this season to bring improved performance to competitors with Intel NUC and AGON by AOC returning to the tournament and Jack Link’s joining as the Official Protein Provider for Red Bull Campus Clutch UK 2023. As PC Partner, Intel NUC, renowned for packing high-powered gaming rigs in small form factors, will support with its top-notch gaming PCs. The official Monitor Partner, AGON by AOC, will once again provide high-performance gaming monitors for the event.

Over 10,000 eSports fans showed up to watch the action live and 750,000 unique viewers tuned in to watch the finals online

The International Esports Federation (IESF) proudly concludes the 15th World Esports Championship where the Philippines emerged as the Grand Champion after ten days of thrilling competition and an unforgettable closing ceremony.

WEC23 Gold Medalists:

• Mobile Legends: Bang Bang – Philippines
• PUBG Mobile – Kyrgyzstan
• eFootball 2023 – Iran
• Tekken7 – Pakistan
• CS:GO – Sweden
• CS:GO Female – Netherlands
• Dota 2 – Mongolia

For ten days, the global eSports community remained engaged throughout the tournament, breaking last year’s viewership record with a peak of 700,796 viewers during the Mobile Legends: Bang Bang Grand Final. The Philippines and Indonesia once again showcased their power in eSports, reaffirming their status as global leaders in both national success and eSports popularity.

Philippines: Grand Champions

A historic 601 eSports players from 111 countries competed across six game titles: CS:GO, Dota 2, Mobile Legends: Bang Bang, eFootball 2023, Tekken 7 and PUBG Mobile with all the action live-streamed on IESF’s YouTube and Twitch channels. This year’s championship also featured the women’s CS:GO tournament, doubling the number of teams from last year with the Netherlands emerging as the champions.

Beyond the eSports excitement, the 15th WE Championship included insightful panel discussions with thought leaders, activations with IESF partner FitGMR and a ComicCon event, creating an interactive and engaging experience for attendees.

IESF hosted a three-day music festival during the finals in partnership with Digital Throne, Romania’s biggest pop culture festival, featuring performances by international artists like Armin van Buuren and Lost Frequencies. The extravagant closing ceremony at the Palace of Culture featured speeches by IESF President Vlad Marinescu and Iasi mayor Mihai Cirica with HRH Prince Faisal Bin Bandar Bin Sultan Al Saud presenting the Philippines with the Grand Champion Trophy to celebrate the athletes’ hard work and performances.

“We are proud to crown the Philippines as the Grand Champion and congratulate all our finalists for their outstanding performances throughout the tournament,” the General Secretary for the IESF, Boban Totovski, said. “This event further cemented IESF as the home of international eSports. We would like to thank our athletes, the city of Iasi, our partners and everyone who made it possible to unite the world eSports family and make history in Romania.”

“Being a Grand Champion is a long-time dream and testament of what Filipinos can achieve when working in unity in the most beautiful sport of the future,” the President of the Philippine Esports Federation, Brian Lim, said. “eSports Mabuhay Pilipinas.”

The city of Iasi’s culturally rich and youthful atmosphere exceeded expectations as 100,000 fans came together to celebrate eSports and support their countries, solidifying Romania’s position as a leading eSports destination.

Saudi Arabia to Host 16th World Esports Championship

At the closing ceremony, the President for the IESF, Vlad Marinescu, officially handed over the IESF flag to Saudi Arabia, which will host the 16th World Esports Championship in 2024. This marks the first time Saudi Arabia will host IESF’s flagship event, where athletes compete under their national flags.

“We are thrilled to host the IESF’s 16th World Esports Championship in Saudi Arabia in 2024 to demonstrate our strong support for the IESF,” the Chairman of the Saudi Esports Federation, HRH Prince Faisal Bin Bandar Bin Sultan Al Saud, said. “A warm welcome is extended to eSports enthusiasts from around the globe. Our unwavering commitment lies in delivering a world-class event that not only reflects our passion for eSports but also underscores our dedication to its expansion. Together, we look forward to creating an unforgettable championship experience in the heart of Riyadh.”

“As we wrap up a truly historic edition of the World Esports Championship, it is an honor to announce Saudi Arabia as the next host country that will welcome the world eSports family,” Marinescu said. “We look forward to working with Saudi Arabia, the local organizing committee, the Saudi Esports Federation and our incredible partners to keep the momentum going and continue to grow and promote eSports on the global stage.”

The final announcement regarding the dates of the 2024 WE Championship National and Regional Qualifiers and Finals are to be published in the upcoming period.