Konami today announces the launch of a new esports tournament: the “eFootball Italy Cup“. It is a tournament based in Italy that will see the integration of the partner clubs of eFootball, of the players of their youth academy, of important pro-players and, above all, of the fans.
The “eFootball Italia Cup” represents a new export opportunity for Konami and for football simulation. The tournament will see three different players join forces to form a team and represent each of the competing clubs. These will be: a selected player from the club’s youth team, a pro player who is currently part of the club’s esports team and a fan of the club selected from an online qualifying tournament.
This unique team of elite players and amateurs, along with the youth selection, represents a first-of-its-kind fusion unlike anything else seen in the current football simulation esports landscape.
All seven partner of eFootball will participate: AC Milan, AC Monza, AS Roma, Atalanta BC, FC Internazionale Milano, SS Lazio and SSC Napoli.
How the competition works
Before the seven clubs compete for the title of champions of the “eFootball Italia Cup”, there will be the selections of the three representatives.
In first place, each club will organize an internal esport tournament among the players of its youth sectors to determine one of the representatives. This tournament will be accompanied by a seminar by the KONAMI eFootball Activations team that will provide an insight into the ever-changing world of esports and video games.
In second placea tournament within each club between their respective pro-players to determine who will represent them on the team.
In third placeeFootball™ will operate an online in-game tournament for all Italian players called “KONAMICI”, an Italian-only event within eFootball™ 2023. Players can register to compete online and the tournament will last a total of two weeks.
It is not necessary to be an eFootball™ veteran to participate in the tournament, no previous experience is required. Every fan can register online and select the team he wishes to represent.
From here, they will play a minimum of 30 online matches against other fans of the selected club, earning points match after match. The online leaderboard will determine the best representatives.
The top finishers from each club then progress to the knockout stage, which is also played online. The winner for each club will then complete the squad, along with the youth academy winner and pro-player. Together they will represent their club in the “eFootball Italia Cup”.
Every winner of KONAMICS not only will he be able to represent his club in an internationally broadcast esport tournament, but he will be able to live unique experiences and receive exclusive prizes both from KONAMI and from the club represented.
KONAMICI will take place only on Playstation®4 and Playstation®5 and will be free-to-play.
Tournament calendar
The “eFootball Italia Cup” is a new form of esports competition with many different elements coming together to bring it to life. The qualifiers and selections for the clubs’ representative teams and the resulting tournament will take place in stages between December 2022 and April 2023.
The phase of qualification of KONAMICI will begin in February, allowing all fans to qualify for the final stages. The knockout finals will conclude by the end of March 2023.
Once the squads of three players who will represent the clubs have been confirmed, one will start group stage offline where clubs will compete to determine their position in their respective groups. This phase will be broadcast by the “Coppa eFootball Italia” studio. This stage will affect the knockout draw at the Grand Final weekend in April.
Finally, once the rankings have been established in the various groups, the clubs will be drawn for the quarter finals. From there, it will be a single-elimination tournament with two semi-finals, a third place play-off (between the two clubs losing their respective semi-finals) and a grand final.
The Grand Final weekend will be an offline and live event hosted at Napoli COMICON on the weekend of April 28 – May 1, 2023.
The winning club will win the grand prize, which includes an eFootball™ gaming-multimedia center that will be implemented in their youth academy training complex.
For the duration of the tournament, on the official YouTube channel of eFootball™ will be available the “eFootball™TV”, an episodic series recorded in the studio of the “eFootball Italia Cup”.
These broadcasts will include competition highlights and analysis, interviews with players, appearances by players and legends from partner clubs, and an exclusive behind-the-scenes look that will give fans an all-round insight into eFootball™ and the eFootball Italia Cup.
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