Zwift has today announced the news of a brand new e-sports event to rival the UCI World Championships. Called The Zwift Games, the new event will see men's and women's champions crowned across three different disciplines as well as overall male and female champions with an equal share of what Zwift claims will be its biggest-ever prize purse.
According to Zwift, the Zwift Games will be open to all cyclists and will provide an open qualification pathway to the Zwift Games elite finals which will be held in the first half of March 2024, with qualification races for the finals taking place in February 2024.
We covered the news back in August that Zwift would no longer host the UCI Cycling Esports World Championships, after Abu Dhabi-based cycling app MyWhoosh emerged victorious from the tender process. MyWhoosh will host the championships through to 2026.
At the time, Zwift said it would continue to create top-level events and the Zwift Games looks to be proof of this claim.
Any Zwifter from around the world will be able to enter the championship events. But Zwift says riders can also enter community events linked to each championship if they aren't interested in competing for overall titles. The brand says having such an open competition promises to make the Zwift Games the most democratic cycling championships ever held.
The Zwift Games will be comprised of three championship races:
The Sprint Championship - Is said to have taken the best elements of the Zwift Battle Royale which was rolled out for the 2023 Esports Worlds. Riders will compete in several events back to back. The qualifiers will be open to all Zwift riders and top finishers will progress to the finals.
The Epic Championship - This race will be at least 60 kilometres long and according to Zwift will "test every facet of competitors' resolve." It will use the Coastal Causeway route as well as a brand new route. A community event will take place at the same time as the championship and any Zwifter can participate in either event, creating what Zwift says may be the world's largest cycling esports event.
The Hill Climb Championship - The hill climb championship will aim to establish who is the best cycling Esports climber by giving racers the opportunity to race up the whole of Alpe du Zwift. There will also be a community challenge which includes the Alpe as well as other climbs.
Race distances will be equal for men and women and prize money will also be split equally.
More details including exact date and event specifics will be shared by Zwift in December.
