Gfinity has announced Nordavind AS as the latest team to join the Elite Series, in time for Season 3.
The team is the latest in what’s a very different lineup for this season, and the team have an interesting background. According to the release, they were previously named BX3 Esports Club and had small teams in some of the biggest esports as well as some more hefty pedigree in the likes of Rocket League and Street Fighter – incidentally two of the three games played at Gfinity.
Interestingly, Nordavind is a rebrand as a result of a deal between BX3 and Valerenga Football AS, one of Norway’s top football clubs. The team finished 8th in the Eliteserien last year but have five league titles in their history. The Norwegian club own 80% of the stake in Nordavind and as a result, players at the esports organisation have access to the training and business facilities as well as the arena venue should they need it.
As aforementioned, the team already has players in both Street Fighter V and Rocket League – but as they’ve now been acquired by a football club, a FIFA roster clearly is an intuitive next step. The Elite Series will see them delve into the sport simulation title and go up against some of the best in the industry.
The Elite Series teams that we know about are now as follows:
- Nordavind AS
- Fnatic
- Team Vitality
- Ares Esport
- Reason Gaming
- exceL
- Prophecy
- Team Envy
- Method
- Epsilon
- Hashtag United
As far as we’re aware, there are only ten teams set to compete in the Elite Series. The release itself says “expansion to 10 teams”, however, the list above has 11 in total. There is no news yet as to who has dropped out of the next season.
Esports Insider says: Interesting that another football club are getting involved. There’s a tasty lineup of teams on the Elite Series menu now so we look forward to it all getting underway.