PUBG launching official European league with €1m prize pot

PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds has joined forces with Starladder to create the first official PUBG league, a professional European tournament with a prize fund of €1 million (£875,000).

The PUBG Europe League (PEL) will open its doors in January 2019, and sees pro teams registered from across Europe, the Middle East, and North Africa battle it out for a place in the 32-team contender’s league. 16 teams from there will be promoted to the PEL, and the best teams from that division will also have the chance to qualify for an international tournament.

Alex Nam, head of EMEA business and VP at PUBG Corp, said: “Taking the next step in our five year plan, the PUBG Europe League brings more consistency with regular matches from professional teams, bringing an increase in competitive matches for the fans and players of PUBG to get excited for and watch. The more matches on offer from the league will ensure teams are enhancing their skills and strategy over the course of the season, to result in matches with even more grandeur.

“We are also very glad to have joined forces with StarLadder on this remarkable project. StarLadder has proven themselves as a reliable, innovative and highly motivated partner. We are expecting a great many exciting things coming out for this partnership.”

The launch of the official professional league will hopefully light a fire under PUBG’s backside, with the game slipping in player count consistently since the beginning of 2018. While the battle royale-popularising shooter did become the first game to host over a million players every day for over a year on Steam, there’s still the feeling it needs something to mount a strong comeback against reigning champion of everything, Fortnite.