EGX London 2014

Words by Rahul Uppal, one of the new talented members of the Gfinity writing team. Make sure to drop him a follow on Twitter: @esn_nemesis

As many of you already know, EGX is one of the most renowned and fastest growing gaming events within the United Kingdom, attracting an abundance of gaming enthusiasts from all around the globe. Whether you are a hardened veteran or casual gamer, EGX provides members of the public with an occasion to interact and play some of the most anticipated titles of the year.

Therefore, when Gfinity was presented with the opportunity to attend EGX 2014, we were honoured to be included within the illustrious lineup participating at the iconic event. However, due to the nature and origins of Gfinity, we decided upon adding an alternative perspective to our booth, one that reflected our eSports upbringing.

As a result, we teamed up with powerhouse video games publisher Riot Games in order to create an authentic eSports experience in our ‘Play Like A Pro’ exhibition. Through the popular platform of League of Legends, Gfinity offered random members of the audience the opportunity to delve into the world of competitive gaming, placing each willing participant into our professional soundproof booths and equipping them with a full state of the art setup.

As well as this, in true eSports fashion, each game was broadcasted live onto Gfinity’s official Twitch account while also being commentated over by LoL professional shoutcasters Stress, Pulse, Sona and Excoundrel.

On top of this, due to Gfinity possessing one of the largest booths at the event, we were also able to allow a budding crowd to congregate in our LoL ‘jungle’ themed spectators sector and watch the games unfold live. Although the presence of a large crowd was initially used to aid the establishment of the ultimate eSports experience, members of the audience were also rewarded for displaying a loyal interest into our demonstrations, with a number of giveaways hosted throughout the day. A plethora of Gfinity T-Shirts, Gfinity Mugs, LoL Skins & LoL Gift Cards were issued out over the weekend.

In addition to our ‘Play Like A Pro’ exhibition, Gfinity also hosted and broadcasted the Fifa 15 EGX Showdown in association with Mad Catz on Friday 26^th September. With a £2,500 cash prize up for grabs, four of the biggest FIFA YouTubers; Bateson, Calfreezy, Nepenthez and Spencer Owen faced off against each other in a two-legged head to head matchup.

Heading into the first semi-final, we witnessed Bateson taking on Nepenthez, in what turned out to be the closest encounter of the day. Initially, Bateson started the first game of the series well, securing an early lead in 3^rd minute. However, after a first half stoppage time red card, Nepenthez was able to secure the first leg 2-1 and consequently win the series 3-2 on aggregate.

Within the second semi-final between Spencer Owen and Calfreezy, we observed a rather familiar scenario as Calfreezy opened the series with a 4^th minute goal. However, despite this early lead, much like Nepenthez, Spencer Owen was able to overcome this deficit to secure the first leg 2-1. Heading into the second leg both players were seemingly more cautious and passive with their tactics and as a result we witnessed Spencer Owner winning the game by a slender single goal margin, defeating Calfreezy 3-1 on aggregate.

With two closely contested semi-finals concluded, the Fifa 15 EGX Showdown final between Nepenthez and Spencer Owen possessed the potential to be the most intense encounter of the day. Unfortunately, for Spencer Owen and his fans, this intensity was not evenly shared as Nepenthez secured the FIFA 15 EGX Showdown crown with a commanding 7-2 aggregate victory.

Throughout the four days of EGX, a record breaking 75,000 people attended the last ever event held at the Earls Court Exhibition Centre and we are humbled to announce that over 6,000 of those who attended took some time out of their day to visit our booth.

So far, we have received an overwhelming amount of positive feedback regarding our participation at EGX and as a result we would like to take this opportunity to once again thank our staff members, sponsors and volunteers for their tireless efforts and assistance over the weekend.

However, most importantly, we would like to thank you, the public, for not only visiting our booth and watching our streams over the past weekend but for the continuous support in every venture we partake in.

If our recap article wasn't enough for you, why not go and relive the fun by checking out the EGX photo gallery or watch every minute of action featured on our livestream via the EGX VOD playlist.