World Sailing, supported by leading digital sailing platform Virtual Regatta, will kick off the 2021 eSailing Nations Cup – a nation versus nation knockout challenge to crown the best eSailing nation in the world – this Sunday 12 September.
The eSailing Nations Cup begins with exciting seeding races to establish the 2021 heats.
Sunday also marks the start of the finals season of the 2021 eSailing World Championship, which launched on 21 January – a race to win this year’s title and USD 10,000 prize money.
“This Sunday is going to be big – we’ll see the world’s best eSailors representing their national teams in the 2021 eSailing Nations Cup as well as competing as individuals in the eSailing World Championship,” said Scott Over, Commercial Director of World Sailing.
“In 2020 we saw huge excitement around the eSailing Nations Cup, with teams finally having the opportunity to compete together under one flag against the best in the world. This is a true team competition and requires deep skill, ability to train together and knowledge of the other nations. The eSailors competing over the next couple of months will have dedicated a lot of time practicing to represent their nation – now they have an opportunity to do themselves proud on the world stage.”
The eSailing Nations Cup is exclusively open to nations who have registered for an eSailing National Championship this year and will see national teams of ten participate in mass fleet races with knockout rounds, before advancing to quarter and semi-finals.
The top two teams will meet in a live streamed final on 6 November, with the winning team crowned the eSailing Nations Cup Champion and recognised as the best eSailing country in the world.
Great Britain and Spain battled it out at the final of the inaugural 2020 eSailing Nations Cup, with Great Britain taking the first ever victory with a 6-3 performance. This year, Great Britain and Spain both have four players coming back for a second year. Will their experience pay off in the 2021 competition?
Great Britain’s 2020 Captain Mike O’Donovan (@Deja Vu) returns as Captain for 2021, alongside 2020 teammates Cavan Fyans (@ACF), Donnie Gillies (@Donnie Gillies) and Alasdair Ireland (@speedy_1). Spain’s bronze Olympic medallist, and 2020 eSailing world champion, Joan Cardona (@Joan Cardona) was first on the team again this year, joined by Miguel Cruz (@Cruzolator), Raúl Sánchez (@CNS Rausanlag) and Ramón Parejo (@Ramon Parejo CNS).
Other notable players include Japan’s 2020 eSailing National Champion Toshiki Kogure (@K-GR) and Natsuki Matsuura (@Vegas) as Captain for 2021. Keep an eye out too on Denmark’s Lukas Mohr (@Lukas Mohr), 2019 and 2020 Danish eSailing national champion who has been the eSailing Nations Cup team captain in 2020 and now 2021.
A total of 14 nations are already confirmed to go head-to-head in 2021. Great Britain will defend their title against Denmark, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Japan, The Netherlands, Turkey, Poland, Russia, Spain, Sweden and Switzerland.
“The eSailing Nations Cup has quickly become the focus of the eSailing calendar,” said Philippe Guigne, CEO of Virtual Regatta. “When developing the game, it was competitions such as the eSailing World Championship and the eSailing Nations Cup which I hoped would showcase everything that makes eSailing so amazing. Creating competition, communities, and the annual pinnacle of performance in a fair environment was our goal. This year will give these top eSailing nations an opportunity to once again battle to become the number one in the world with many eSailors looking to build on their experiences in 2020 and up their game.”
eSailing Nations Cup Schedule
The eSailing Nations Cup seeding races will take place on Sunday 12 September, with the knockout rounds starting from Monday 13 September. The quarter final will take place between the 16 – 27 October, with the semi final running 30 – 31 October. A third place playoff will decide the third best eSailing nation in the world on Wednesday 3 November, before the final on Saturday 6 November.
How To Play
Join a community of thousands competing in the world’s most important sailing races at the cutting edge of sailing simulation – in real time and in real conditions: https://esailing-wc.com
The games can be played on desktop and via iOS and Android devices:
Desktop – https://www.virtualregatta.com/en/index_vrinshore.php
iOS – https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/virtual-regatta-inshore/id1182301199?mt=8
Android – https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.virtualregatta.inshore&hl=en