UEFA eEURO 2021 finals start on Thursday
Wednesday, July 7, 2021
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The eEURO 2021 final tournament gets under way on Thursday, with 16 teams battling it out to be crowned champions of Europe on Saturday – and matches screened on UEFA's YouTube channel
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Sixteen teams will be vying to be crowned eEURO 2021 champions from 8 to 10 July as the biggest ever efootball tournament for national teams reaches its climax. Contenders from all 55 UEFA member associations have taken part in this year's edition, competing exclusively on KONAMI's eFootball PES 2021 SEASON UPDATE on PlayStation 4.
Guy-Laurent Epstein, UEFA marketing director
"The UEFA eEURO has given efootball enthusiasts the chance to dream of representing their country on the biggest stage and we would like to wish all the teams competing at the final tournament the very best of luck. The inaugural UEFA eEURO was an undoubted success, with over 15 million people having watched competition footage across UEFA's platforms. We have seen a massive growth in the popularity of efootball over the past few years and eEURO 2021 is continuing to give us the opportunity to connect with new and existing fans of national team football."
Fans of the game will also be able to watch the matches unfold on KONAMI's official PES Twitch channel and other platforms. Meanwhile, KONAMI is running an in-game campaign which will allow PES users across console, PC and mobile to obtain eFootball Points by watching the eEURO 2021 finals via UEFA or KONAMI channels.
A unique tournament
Each of the competing teams will be looking to emulate Italy, who were the first ever winners of the UEFA eEURO last year. For many of the gamers, the competition has also enabled them to fulfil a life-long ambition of representing their countries in a major international event.
Yos Sonneveld (AFC_INDOMINATOR), Netherlands
"I think the eEURO is a unique tournament and it's a big stage for PES players to show what they're made of. This tournament makes it possible to represent your own country, and to be one of the players representing the Netherlands is truly special."
Erman Gökdemir (Simegal_Erman), Turkey
"I think this tournament is the biggest and most important tournament in the history of PES. It's a great level of competition, while the game brings together good players from many countries. The eEURO gives us the pride and happiness of representing our country."
How will the final tournament work?
The 16 teams have been drawn into four groups of four. Selected encounters will be broadcast on UEFA's YouTube channel as the teams in each group play each other in a dual tournament bracket format (double elimination without a grand final). The top two from each section will advance to the quarter-finals in an eight-team single elimination bracket.
The four group winners will be drawn randomly against a runner-up from another group. Each match, until the final, will be a best-of-three series. The final will be a best of five. Matches will be played 1-vs-1. A total of €100,000 in cash prizes will be split between everyone competing in the final tournament, including €40,000 for the victors.
How did qualifying work?
The group stage draw took place in February, with the competing countries divided into ten groups of five or six.
Every country played two matches each (1-vs-1) against the other nations in their 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 then took part in a play-off tournament to determine the other six finalists. The contenders were split into two groups of five, with the top three advancing from each.