Colombo, October 18, 2021 — Sri Lanka’s first-ever eSport Formula One (F1) Championship ended recently as a roaring success, with Seylan Bank as the Official Banking Partner. The championship featured a total of eight races on the simulated racing video game, Assetto Corsa. Similar to the real F1 circuit, points on the leader board were tallied at the end of the tournament to unveil Sri Lanka’s first-ever F1 Assetto Corsa Champion — Fawzul Aleem. 

Twenty-one participants competed in the eSport F1 Championship organized by Mandarin Reid eSports and SIM Racing Lanka. The tournament had a complete grid of 21 participants having generated considerable interest. This interest continued with the audience that tuned in to view the championship’s live feed across the various platforms it was broadcasted on. 

Commenting on the inaugural eSport Formula One Championship, Gamika De Silva, Assistant General Manager of Sales and Marketing at Seylan Bank PLC said: “As a bank with a trusted reputation that spans well over three decades, we take great pride in partnering with Sri Lanka’s first-ever eSports F1 Championship as the Official Banking Partner. Despite the widespread economic disruption caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, the global video game industry is booming. With social distancing limiting consumer and corporate activity to a bare minimum, gaming provides an interesting distraction for people at home seeking social engagement, and the preliminary data suggests a massive increase in playing time and sales since the lockdowns began.”

According to research firm Niko Partners, Asia is the world’s largest and most important region for eSports, accounting for more than 54% of the USD 1 billion global market. In 2019, eSports was recognized as an official sport in Sri Lanka. The national eSports team represents the country at international events such as the IESF Esports World Championship, the Global Esports Games, and the World Esports League.