Regional Qualifiers kick off with European Championships in Baku, Azerbaijan

Europe’s greatest players compete in Tekken 7 to secure place in IESF’s flagship event

The European Esports Federation (EEF) with the support from the International Esports Federation (IESF) are organizing the European Championship in Tekken 7 and officially kicked off the World Esports Championships regional qualifiers in Baku, Azerbaijan. Players from 18 countries will compete in Tekken 7 for a prize of $5,000 and a coveted spot in the WE Championships Finals.

The European Championships began today, 26th May, with the Opening Ceremony taking place at Crystal Hall Arena in the Azerbaijan capital. This is the first time Azerbaijan has hosted the regional qualifiers. The Ceremony featured representatives from the 18 nations participating as well as the President of the Azerbaijan Esports Federation, President of the European Esports Federation and Deputy Minister of Youth and Sports of Azerbaijan Republic.

President of the Azerbaijan Esports Federation Ramil Aliyev: “I would like to express my deep gratitude to the European Esports Federation for the great confidence put in us to organize such a competition here in Baku. I believe that promoting and sharing common values will let us build a strong community in Europe as a whole. I hope that all participants will leave our country with great impressions and priceless memories. In the end, I want to declare the European Esports Championship Baku 2022 officially open! Wish you good Luck & Have Fun!”

IESF President Vlad Marinescu spoke at the Opening Ceremony and said: “I first want to thank the city of Baku and the local government and organizers for welcoming the World Esports Family for the first round of our regional qualifiers. The Azerbaijan Esports Federation has done an amazing job at growing and promoting esports in their nation. We are looking forward to continuing IESF’s rich and consistent history of hosting the best esports events and proving athletes with the ultimate environment to perform at their full potential with the 14th World Esports Championships. Players, Let the games begin!”

European Esports President Ido Brosh said: “ The European Esports Championships feature some of the best Esports athletes in Europe, competing for a cash prize and a chance to qualify to the IESF World Esports Championships later this year in Bali. Only together we can lead by example, as the sport of the next generation. Congratulations to Baku and the Azerbaijan Esports Federation for hosting this event – it is our pleasure to visit your country. And to the players competing this week I say good luck, have fun, have perseverance, and bring home the glory!”

Eighteen players from Azerbaijan, France, Georgia, Israel, Italy, Hungary, Macedonia, Malta, Monaco, Montenegro, Netherlands, Poland, Serbia, Slovakia, Spain, Sweden, Turkey and Wales will compete in Tekken 7 with all matches available to stream on the IESF Twitch channel.

The European Championships will continue throughout the summer with upcoming competitions in CS:GO, eFootball, Dota 2, PUBG and Mobile Legend: Bang Bang in Oradea, Romania, Podgorica, Montenegro, and Tirana, Albania, respectfully. The Championships feature a total prize pool of $80,000.

The WE Championships regional qualifiers will continue in the fall with the Panam, Asian and African Championships. The world’s greatest esports players will then go head-to-head at the 2022 edition of the WE Championships Finals in Bali, Indonesia, taking place from December 1 to 12, 2022.