Gfinity announced that Norwegian esports organization Nordavind, official esports team of Norwegian football club Vålerenga Fotball AS, has signed-up to the Elite Series for Season 3. Nordavind will put forward teams for Rocket League and Street Fighter V and recruit FIFA players ahead of the Elite Series kick-off on March 9, 2018 at the Gfinity Esports Arena in London.
Nordavind, previously known as BX3, was founded in 2011 and has quickly risen to become a force in Norwegian esports. Their partnership with Vålerenga Fotball AS, who compete in the top division of Norwegian football, is one of the largest esports investments in the Nordics. The joint venture will enable Nordavind to take advantage of all the football club’s facilities including the Intility Arena which seats 17,333 supporters, and full use of trainers, physios and nutritionists.
“Nordavind will bring another huge boost to the Elite Series with their passionate fans from both the esports and football scene due to their newly found partnership with Vålerenga Fotball AS,” said Neville Upton, CEO of Gfinity. “With a little over a month to go, we couldn’t be more focused; we have re-shaped the Elite Series, increased the number of teams and everything is in place for us to deliver the most competitive Elite Series to date.”
Steffen Willumsen, Commercial Manager of Nordavind AS comments, “To reach the international stage is a goal we have been working towards for the last seven years and joining Gfinity’s Elite Series is a real milestone for us. We have brought with us a talented team of people with different skill sets and competence and we very much look forward to getting underway on opening night.”
Prior to Nordavind’s opening match, amateur gamers from Europe are invited to sign up for free to compete in the Challenger Series to earn a place in the Elite Draft. After six weeks of online competition, the top players will enter the draft in the hope of being selected by one of the 10 teams with each drafting two players to become part of their active roster. The teams will compete in a five-week regular season in a bid to make the play-offs which will be played over a three-week period from the Gfinity Esports Arena in London.