PES League World Tour 2018 named as official UEFA Champions League esports competition

The longstanding commercial union between Konami’s Pro Evolution Soccer series as the UEFA Champions League has scored yet another wonder goal.

The Japanese publisher’s PES League World Tour 2018 has now been named as the official UEFA Champions League esports competition. This bodes well for a potential extension to the three-year agreement struck between the pair in 2015.

Currently PES is the only video game series to offer an official and licensed recreation of the Champions League.

The partnership now stands in opposition to the very tight-knit relationship between FIFA and EA that sees the latter’s hugely successful FIFA series currently leading the way in esports football.

Indeed, few esports teams currently have a PES pro among their ranks. This is something Konami will need to change if it has serious aspirations for PES esports.

“I am delighted to be able to work with UEFA for this opportunity,” Konami Digital Entertainment president Hideki Hayakawa said, “not only to bring an exciting experience for the participating players, but to also be able to provide Football fans from all over the world an opportunity to enjoy this competition first-hand at the physical events or through live streams.”

UEFA Events SA marketing director Guy-Laurent Epstein added: “We look forward to this season’s PES eSports events and the opportunity it provides for gamers and viewers to further engage with the UEFA Champions League brand.”

FIFA 18 will be released this week. PES 2018 arrived earlier this month and, for the first time, offers a PC version that’s comparable to the console releases.