ExCeL London was transformed into a cutting-edge eSports arena over the Easter weekend, playing host to the FACEIT Global Summit: PUBG Classic.
The event saw 24 international teams compete over a six-day period. It featured knockout rounds and culminated in a grand final for a live audience of over 3,000 and online reached in excess of 6 million viewers.
FACEIT, the leading competitive gaming platform, and organizers of the tournament, chose ExCeL London for its flexibility of space coupled with robust technical capabilities. The event was streamed live and required 9.9 Terabytes of data to be moved from the internet.
This event supports ExCeL’s ambitions for growth in this dynamic sector, valued at £3.86bn to the UK economy. Working closely with the Mayor of London’s promotional agency, London & Partners, ExCeL have planned activity throughout the year to promote the venue and destination to the global games industry.
“eSports is a rapidly growing market and demand is increasing for professional and tech savvy venues,” says Jane Hague, ExCeL’s head of business development. “The success of the 2019 FACEIT Global Summit has demonstrated why ExCeL London is a strong venue choice for future tournaments. We look forward to the opportunity that this presents for our business”.
“PUBG is one of the most exciting esports in the industry,” adds Michele Attisani, Co-Founder of FACEIT. “Bringing something of this magnitude to London helps to cement the UK’s position as being a destination for esports.”
ExCeL will also play host to leading UK gaming exhibition, EGX, when it returns to London this year. The show has been nestled in Birmingham’s NEC for the past five years, but it was born and raised in London and will be returning home in October.
ExCeL London opened in November 2000, in an area of huge regeneration in London’s historic Royal Docks. Today, the venue hosts 300 events per year, welcoming 4 million visitors from every corner of the globe. Events hosted at ExCeL London generate £4.5bn in economic impact for London and support 37,600 jobs. Under the ownership of ADNEC, ExCeL London has seen significant investment in new facilities, including the opening of London’s International Convention Centre (ICC) and onsite hotel developments. For more info, visit www.excel.london.
