The Alpha Republic of Esport (Ares) has joined Season 3 of the Gfinity Elite Series.
The org has filled the spot left by Team EndPoint, the UK org who left after Season 2 concluded.
If you’re unfamiliar with Ares, they’re a relatively new organisation backed by a string of ambassadors who also happen to be top footballers or athletes.
Bayern Munich and Colombia midfielder James Rodriguez, Yannick Carrasco of Atletico Madrid, Leicester’s Riyad Mahrez and Southampton’s Mario Lemina are among those involved with the organisation.
Ares will join the likes of Reason Gaming, Epsilon and other newcomers Vitality and Fnatic – who recently signed up to the Elite Series – to take part in Season 3. This five-week tournament begins on March 9th at the Gfinity Esports Arena in London, and will culminate in a three-week playoff.
They will battle it out across three games – FIFA, Rocket League and Street Fighter – for an overall prize pool of £250,000.
Ares take the last spot and round out the number of participating teams to ten.
The org is headquartered in Paris and expands to London this year.
Very excited by this new challenge with @MoussaSissoko @WRenard @sffeghouli @jamesdrodriguez @KarimBoudiaf20 @CarrascoY21 and @TeamAresEsport @Gfinity ??? #Esport https://t.co/L7joSe2CRV
— Mario Lemina (@LeminaM_13) January 19, 2018
Ares host their own competitions to discover esports talent around the world, with the tournament winners offered a professional contract – much like making the Elite Draft based on player rankings in Gfinity’s Challenger Series.
They also have a picture of James Rodriguez kicking a Murloc from Warcraft in their Twitter header image, which is fine by us.
“We are excited to have Ares onboard heading into season three and we look forward to them bringing their top talent to the Gfinity Esports Arena,” said Neville Upton, CEO of Gfinity.
“With a renowned pedigree and a host of top-tier sporting athletes who work closely with the teams, Ares will provide a perfect landing spot for our budding amateurs currently battling it out in the Challenger Series.”
“Being part of a world class tournament such as the Elite Series represents an excellent opportunity for Ares Esport, with the support of our ambassadors, to begin our international venture here in the UK,” said Badr Slassi, CEO of Ares.
“The inclusion of FIFA 18, complete with qualifying spot towards the FIFA eWorld Cup 2018, makes this a tournament we have to be involved in and we’re thrilled to be a part of it.”
Prior to Ares’ 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 40 players will enter the draft in the hope of being selected by one of the 10 Elite Series teams, with each drafting two players to become part of their active roster.
Dom is an award-winning writer and finalist of the Esports Journalist of the Year 2023 award. He graduated from Bournemouth University with a 2:1 degree in Multi-Media Journalism in 2007.
As a long-time gamer having first picked up the NES controller in the late ’80s, he has written for a range of publications including GamesTM, Nintendo Official Magazine, industry publication MCV and others. He worked as head of content for the British Esports Federation up until February 2021, when he stepped back to work full-time on Esports News UK and offer esports consultancy and freelance services. Note: Dom still produces the British Esports newsletter on a freelance basis, so our coverage of British Esports is always kept simple – usually just covering the occasional press release – because of this conflict of interest.
