Strong showing from Porsche Coanda Esports Racing Team at Esports World Cup rounds off ESL R1 season

A strong showing from the Porsche Coanda Esports Racing Team at the Esports World Cup saw the team claim over $30,000 in prize money after reaching both finals in the ESL R1 season.

Multiple podium finishes across the four-days of competition meant the team secured sixth in the drivers’ championship and fifth in the teams’ championship.

The four drivers flew out to Riyadh for the event among the favourites to win, as Joshua Rogers was the defending ESL R1 drivers’ champion, and Porsche Coanda Esports Racing Team was crowned the teams’ champion in last year’s ESL R1 x Gamers8 event - also held in Riyadh.

A total prize pool of $500,000 across both drivers’ and teams’ championships was up for grabs.

In the earlier online qualifiers, held between May and July, Rogers topped the drivers’ championship which gave him a points advantage heading into the finals. Regardless, the Australian had a target on his back from the start of the tournament after topping the standings in the 2023 championship.

Meanwhile, in the teams’ championship, the slate had been wiped clean from the earlier qualifiers. However, the Porsche Coanda Esports Racing Team had already put in a strong showing to place third in the standings and establish themselves as ones to watch in the live finals.

Drivers’ championship

The first day in the four-day long event was dedicated solely to the drivers’ championship. $100,000 of the prize pool was split amongst the 12 finalists, nine of which had already secured their places from the earlier live finals including defending champion Josh Rogers.

The three remaining Porsche Coanda Esports Racing Team drivers - Charlie Collins, Dayne Warren and Mitchell deJong - were all vying for one of the remaining three places in the live finals.

At the end of the online qualifiers, the drivers who were placed between 10th and 21st in the points standings progress to the second chance round. The top three finishers there would progress to the live finals.

Unfortunately none of the three Porsche Coanda Esports Racing Team drivers were able to make the podium.

Collins only narrowly missed out, as he crossed the line in fourth place, while Warren finished seventh despite getting caught up in a multi-car crash off the line, and deJong finished in 11th place. For those three, their run in the ESL R1 drivers’ championship ended there.

As the eventual points leader in the online qualifiers, Rogers was given the maximum of 100 points at the start of the finals. Team Redline’s Kevin Siggy was his closest competitor on 83.

To be crowned the champion, a driver had to reach 170 points in order to reach finalist mode and then they had to win one of the remaining races.

Seventh place for Rogers in the opening race, fifth in round two and then an unfortunate drop to last in the third race meant he had only added 16 points to his total after three races. In the points standings, he also dropped behind Team Redline’s Kevin Siggy and Sebastian Job.

Rogers’ best result was third place in the fourth round held at Fuji, beating points leader Siggy on the run to the finish line on the final lap.

However, his results weren’t quite enough to reach the 170 needed to enter finalist mode and secure the overall victory. Ultimately it was Siggy who crossed the line first in the final race, and was crowned the drivers’ champion.

Teams’ championship

Spread over three-days was the 12 team competition, with a $400,000 prize pool on the line and almost half of it to be awarded to the champions.

Porsche Coanda Esports Racing Team, the team’s champions in last year’s ESL R1 x Gamers8 event, headed into this championship with high hopes of success.

Each of the teams had to accrue as many points as they could in their two group stage races to earn their place in the final. All four drivers got two race outings, and being one of the four highest points scoring teams would see them automatically qualify for the final and avoid the second chance process.

Rogers, Collins and deJong all secured podium finishes in the group stage races, and six of the eight race results saw them placed in the top half of the pack.

At the end of Friday, the Porsche Coanda Esports Racing Team placed third with a total of 90 points. That secured their place in the final, and gave the four drivers a whole day to prepare for the all-important running on Sunday.

The results of the group stages were converted such that group stages leaders Team Redline started on the maximum of 100 points, whilst Porsche Coanda Esports Racing Team had 51 points to begin.

It was a strong start for the team, as Rogers finished third in the opening round at Jeddah, and in the very next race at the Hockenheimring Warren secured fourth place.

However, the quartet of drivers weren’t quite able to match Team Redline’s enviable run of results.

Team Redline entered finalist mode after just four races and won the team’s championship on the fifth race, meaning the day’s running was brought to a close earlier than expected and four circuits went unused in the final.

Ultimately Porsche Coanda Esports Racing Team earned $25,000 for placing fifth in the teams’ championship. That’s on top of the $6,000 Josh Rogers earned for his successes in the drivers’ championship.

Collins was also named the MVP for the most overtakes.

Upcoming events

The next Esports competition on the horizon is the return of the Porsche TAG Heuer Esports Contender Series.

The six-round championship is a feeder series where the top performing drivers earn a place in next season’s Porsche Esports Supercup.

The six rounds will take place at:

September 21: Algarve International Circuit – Grand Prix September 28: Okayama International Circuit – Full Course October 5: WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca October 12: Circuit Zolder – Grand Prix October 19: Sachsenring October 26: Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps