Gameloft announces Asphalt 9 esports tournament

Gameloft and Xiaomi’s gaming-focused Black Shark brand today announced the “Asphalt esports Series,” a new esports tournament for Asphalt 9: Legends players. This is Gameloft’s first esports tournament for its long-running Asphalt series.

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The first qualification rounds for the tournament start May 20, with the top-ranked players from nine different countries — France, Germany, India, Italy, Japan, South Korea, Spain, the U.K., and the U.S. — selected based on their overall rankings. The players will then travel to Germany, where Gameloft will hold the grand finale in August during Gamescom.

The winner of the grand finale will win 20,000 euros (~$22,355).

Gameloft is partnering with esports organization ESL to put together the event. Gameloft is also partnering with Black Shark to make the recently-released Black Shark 2 smartphone the official gaming device of the tournament.

With the Asphalt series being as popular as it is, it’s surprising to see Gameloft just now announcing a tournament for Asphalt 9: Legends. Then again, esports is expected to garner $1.65 billion in revenue by 2021. Also, the growing number of spectators is making esports less of a risky financial venture for companies.

NEXT: The biggest esports tournaments and leagues in 2019

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