The worlds of online gaming and live professional golf will collide for the first time on the European Tour this week, when the Made in Denmark tournament at Himmerland Golf & Spa Resort plays host to the first European eTour Championship.
Eight of the best players from around the world in the most popular online golf game, World Golf Tour by Topgolf, will go head-to-head in knockout match play format for a prize fund of $5,000 – the biggest prize pool in an esports golf tournament. These eight players represent the more than 15 million players around the world that play World Golf Tour.
First launched in 2008, World Golf Tour recreates many of the world’s most famous courses, including Pebble Beach and Kiawah Island, from photographs of the layouts to create extremely detailed representations of the layouts – so precise that tour players have been know to play the online game to get a feel for courses before playing them for real. The game is free to play.
The European eTour Championship will take place in the tented village at Himmerland, while the stars of the European Tour are battling it out on the course. The first day of live action in the eTour Championship begins on Thursday, May 23 and will consist of four quarter-finals, while on Friday, May 24 there will be two semi-finals, followed by the final. The action will be live-streamed during the afternoon for visitors at the venue.
Marcus Lindmark, CEO of DreamHack, said: “We’re always looking for new ways to bring world-class esports to fans all over the globe, and this truly is an amazing opportunity to do just that. With our huge experience in esports and organising gaming events put together with European Tour’s know-how in golf tournaments, it’s going to be the ultimate crossover between competitive golf and esports.”
Richard Bunn, Head of Media Rights & Programming at the European Tour, said: “The European Tour has a proud reputation for innovation and we are extremely excited to be moving into esports. This is undoubtedly an area which has huge potential, where we will be able to engage with audiences beyond our traditional following, whilst also creating new sponsorship opportunities for our commercial partners. It is fitting we are launching this partnership with Dreamhack during Made in Denmark presented by FREJA, a tournament renowned for innovation over the past five years.”