
Stories of 2015: Meeke's maiden win
Meeke's first, emotional victory is our latest nominee
The competition will use WRC 5, the official video game of the FIA World Rally Championship. It will be the first game to feature its own global eSports championship, allowing gamers to compete in multi-player tournaments, running simultaneously with rounds of the WRC season.
The 2016 eSports WRC Championship will bring the best WRC 5 drivers together for a tournament that begins at the season-opening Rallye Monte-Carlo (21 - 24 January) and continues until the eSports world champions are crowned at Wales Rally GB (27 - 30 October).
The season is divided into two halves, with separate categories for PlayStation 4, Xbox One and PC players. Each half has five tension-filled qualifying rounds and a semi-final, with the three top drivers from each platform invited to the high-profile shootout final in Britain.
The qualifiers and semi-finals will be contested on special stages new to WRC 5 from the rally concerned, which are accessed via download. Once downloaded, practice is unrestricted ahead of the rally weekend.
Each eSports rally weekend will comprise four days of action-packed competition from Thursday to Sunday. Players will have one opportunity each day to record their best time and claim a semi-final place.
The tournament is organised by WRC Promoter, WRC 5 publisher Bigben Interactive and developer Kylotonn Games, in conjunction with ESL, the world’s largest eSports company.
A comprehensive pack of assets with full details of the 2016 eSports WRC Championship can be downloaded here.