UK to get its first eSports arena next year

The UK is set to get its first eSports venue next year as Gfinity, a league organizer for multiplayer games such as Starcraft II and Counter-Strike: Global Offensive, has announced that it will open up a permanent arena in London.

The eSports venue will accommodate up to 500 spectators, although the company hasn't yet decided if it will retrofit an existing building or create a new one. Once it is finished, Gfinity says that it will host 30 tournaments between March and December 2015, covering games like Halo and Call of Duty before its end of season championship final.

Earlier this year Gfinity held a successful event known as G3 held at the Copper Box Arena, with over 4000 fans and 144 competitors in attendance. There are already a few successful annual tournaments around the world, including Valve's ‘The International' Dota 2 tournament but a permanent venue is usually rare and has been an untested business model up until now.

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KitGuru Says: eSports has been showing a lot of growth over the last few years. A dedicated venue has yet to be tested but it will be interesting to see if this can boost the popularity of competitive gaming in the UK. What do you guys think of this? Will it take off?

Source: Gfinity

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