MediaCity hosted EA Sports and its eChampions League esports tournament for multiple rounds over the weekend (16-18 May).
The tournament was hosted across Dock10’s studios HQ1, HQ2, HQ8, and HQ10, utilising over 30,000 square feet of production space. Coverage of the eChampions League is produced by Whisper who provide event and broadcast services for EA Sports.
EA Sports’ eChampions League saw two days of FC25 esports action from 36 pro players. Representing real-world European football clubs following qualification by winning their respective esports leagues, each pro player competed in six games in the league phase before the top 24 progressed to the knockout phase.
At MediaCity, eight players took the top spots of the weekend’s phases and will face off in the eChampions League final in Munich at the end of May, three days before the UEFA Champions League final takes place in the same city.
“MediaCity has long recognised the potential and opportunity for esports and the gaming sector and you can see that in the gaming facilities at HOST in MediaCity and the University of Salford’s Creative Digital Media & Gaming course which is hosted at MediaCity,” said Martin Chown, managing director at MediaCity.
“EA Sports bringing two rounds of the eChampions League to our media hub is a testament to the facilities offered here in Salford, and we’re looking forward to welcoming many more similar events through our doors.”
The studios are fully interconnected through a high-capacity network infrastructure, enabling integration between live studio production and post-production environments.
Production was supported by Dock10’s in-house technology teams.
Andy Waters, head of studios at Dock10, added: “Our goal over the last few years has been to not only continue growing MediaCity as a destination for the best TV and broadcast productions but also partner with the broad variety of organisations across today’s media landscape like esports organisers or streaming producers.
“And working with the highly talented and experienced Whisper team on this eCL tournament has been an absolute pleasure.”