Gfinity says V10 R-League live finals will be held in Abu Dhabi
(GFIN ) and Abu Dhabi Motorsport Management have confirmed to investors that this year’s V10 R-League - the first championship in the Global Racing Series partnership between the two - will culminate in a two day live final event at Yas Mall in Abu Dhabi.
The esports and gaming solutions provider says Miral Group, Etihad Airways and Abu Dhabi Gaming will be the new commercial partners for the competition with a £100,000 prize pool.
The live finals will deliver a dramatic conclusion to Abu Dhabi Gaming Month, it explained.
Season 3 sees Mercedes, the current F1 Esports driver and constructor champions, join the V10 R League roster alongside Aston Martin, Red Bull, Ford, Suzuki Jean Alesi, Team Redline, R8G Grosjean, BMW Motorsport, Williams Esports and the Yas Heat Team.
Gfinity said extensive coverage of every race will be aired on BT Sport’s TV and free digital channels, which is in year two of its commercial deal for exclusive broadcast rights in the UK.
It is estimated that BT Sport will broadcast 120 hours of racing of Season 3 on its TV channel. It will also be live streamed on YouTube and Facebook, and team and driver Twitch channels.
As part of the tournament, the semi-finals, bronze medal match and final of the unique racing league will be played in the Yas Mall on the 22nd and 23rd July 2022. Gfinity says the races are expected to generate a live audience of more than 2,000 gaming fans each day.
Commenting on the news, John Clarke, Chief Executive Officer of Gfinity said, “The V10 R-League is going from strength to strength. The competition format, combined with the fastest virtual car on the track, has captured the imagination of teams, drivers, and fans. The live finals in Abu Dhabi means every V10 R-League race and match have an added edge.
“It will be a battle of nerves and driving skills played out in front of a growing worldwide audience. With the support of Abu Dhabi gaming the momentum that the V10 R-League now has built will continue to grow. Let the racing begin with all roads leading to Abu Dhabi. This is another example of Gfinity’s ability to innovate and broaden the audience for virtual racing”.
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In addition to its five-year partnership with ADMM signed in June 2020, Gfinity recently announced a contract extension with Formula 1 to deliver the 2022 F1 Esports Pro Series.
The esports company will deliver the Pro Exhibition from the FORMULA 1 LENOVO BRITISH GRAND PRIX 2022 and the Pro Championship in 2022. It will also provide adjudication services to Codemasters - a UK publisher of racing games - for the 2023 Challenger Series.
Meanwhile, Gfinity notes that the business is “on the right path to profitability” amid increased revenues, lower operating losses and reduced operating expenditure during 1H and beyond.
The esports solutions provider saw an improvement of 3% in group revenues for 1H22 at £3.3m, up from £3m in 1H21 and a 22% improvement on previous 6 months from £2.7m.
Notably, it said the business is well capitalised to continue to deliver on its objectives following a successful fundraising, underlining confidence in the Company’s long-term performance.
As at 31 December 2021, Gfinity had cash reserves of £1.5m (30 June 2021: £1.4m). Post year end, the Company successfully completed a fundraise of £2.7m. Gfinity said this provides the runway needed for it to be profitable on a month by month basis in 2023.
Commenting, John Clarke, Gfinity's CEO, told investors: “We have continued to improve on financial performance during the period, despite a slower than anticipated return to live events and delays in certain revenue streams. The business remains on the right path to profitability, with increased revenues, lower operating losses and reduced operating expenditure.
“We have strong momentum in our owned revenue streams, in particular our GDM business, with record engagement numbers and revenue per user up 270% since its launch, ‘’ said Clarke, who added that GDM continues to act as the main growth engine for the Company.
Gfinity said a sustained GDM performance and good momentum leads it into 2H and while the lower than anticipated return to live esports events will impact short term revenue and profits, this is not expected to change its long-term prospects or pathway to profitability.
Clarke added: “Although the sector is still recovering from the impacts of Covid-19, macro trends remain in our favour and following a successful fundraise post-period, we now have the operating liquidity we need to deliver on our target of reaching profitability by 2023.”
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