British teenage gamer Brendon Leigh on Saturday became Formula One’s first e-sports champion after winning the finale in Abu Dhabi.
The 18-year-old kitchen manager from Reading, who had never before left Britain or attended a Formula One race, collected 74 points to come out on top of the 20 finalists competing at the finals inside the F1 paddock.
More than 63,000 hopefuls worldwide had in September entered the competition by competing on PlayStation4, Xbox One and Windows PC.
The rewards for the winner, apart from taking away the inaugural trophy, included the right to be a non-driver character in next year’s official F1 game and automatic qualification for next year’s semi-final.
“Winning here means a huge amount to me. I am the first one to do it. That is special,” Leigh said after finishing six points ahead of Chilean Fabrizio Donoso Delgado after three races — Montreal, Spa and Yas Marina.
“I am not sure how to celebrate. I don’t drink or anything — I think I might just go to bed,” said Leigh, who swept past Delgado on the final lap of the virtual Abu Dhabi circuit to win the title.
The top three gamers were to attend an official award ceremony on the Grand Prix podium after yesterday’s real-world season-ending race.
“The attraction to a broad and committed younger generation of F1 and e-sport fans is something that we are proud to support and nurture,” Formula One commercial manager Sean Bratches said in a statement. “We look forward to establishing a season-long series in 2018.”
The e-sports series is a partnership with F1, game developer Codemasters and events and competitions specialists Gfinity.
Some of Formula One’s participants are already embracing e-sports, with McLaren executive director Zak Brown saying all teams could eventually have their own virtual counterpart.
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