UEFA goes online, hosts eSports version of Euro 2020

NYON: Euro 2020 may have been postponed to next year but European football's governing body UEFA will be streaming the finals of the eSports version of the tournament this weekend. The eEuro will be staged virtually and streamed live Saturday and Sunday.

UEFA says in its website that the tournament features all 55 football associations affiliated with it. "The format of the tournament is similar to UEFA EURO 2020, involving a qualification phase and culminating in the final tournament. It is played exclusively on Konami's eFootball Pro Evolution Soccer 2020 (PES 20) on Playstation 4," said UEFA.

The qualifying phase ran between March 9 and 30. A draw placed the 55 teams into ten groups of five or six, with each country playing two matches (1-vs-1) against the other countries in the same group; points from both matches were added to the group table. The ten group winners qualified directly for the final tournament.

The ten runners-up competed in a play-off tournament to determine the other six finalists. A draw placed them into two groups of five, with the top three from each advancing to the finals.

A total of 100,000 Euros in cash prizes will be split between all the finalists, including 40,000 Euros for the winners. The matches start at 1.45pm CEST (6.15pm IST) on Saturday and 10.45am CEST (2.15pm IST) on Sunday. IANS 

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