French sailor Tristan Peron emerged as the winner of the eSailing World Championships title at a live final held in Trieste, Italy.

Competing against sailors from different parts of the world, Peron dominated throughout the competition. Despite suffering a setback in the second race of the day, he still managed to lead by seven points at the halfway stage. His closest rivals, Arthur Farley of Great Britain and Tim Carpentier of France, were unable to catch up throughout the competition. Peron ultimately finished 17 points ahead of Farley in second place.

Peron's victory was worth celebrating as he had twice fallen short in previous eSailing finals. He expressed his elation after the win and said, "It feels good after two failures. I'm super happy for my friend Pepito (Carpentier) and Arthur finishing second a second time. He's so good he will probably make it another year."

"Peron takes home a prize worth 5,000 USD for his victory"

Farley, who battled leukemia and traveled to Trieste shortly after a bone marrow biopsy, finished second overall but was disappointed that he had not sailed to his full potential. He acknowledged Peron's commendable performance throughout the competition and said, "He (Peron) sailed really well today, and I'm just really frustrated that I sailed nowhere near my ability. I just felt like I beat myself. It's mixed feelings really, as the last race was really close to getting second, so I'm happy overall."

The eSailing World Championships is hosted by Barcolana 55 and is presented by Generali, the world's largest sailing regatta, annually held in Trieste on the second Sunday of October. Peron takes home a prize worth 5,000 USD for his victory.

Virtual Regatta and The Ocean Race have renewed their eSailing partnership for the 2023 edition of the gruelling around-the-world yacht race.

The news follows the crowing of the latest eSailing World Champion in Alicante during festivities ahead of Leg 1 of The Ocean Race 2022-23, which got under way Sunday 15 January.

More than 200,000 players are expected to take part in the Virtual Regatta Offshore and Inshore versions of the race, which has seven IMOCA legs and three VO65 Sprint stages on Virtual Regatta Offshore — as well as new features for a virtual experience that promises to be even closer to reality.

“We are happy to be the official game of The Ocean Race for the fourth time and are proud to be associated with one of the world’s most important races, as well as an event that is committed to the protection of the ocean,” says Tom Gautier, head of Virtual Regatta Offshore.

“eSailing is steadily growing and attracting an ever increasing number of players. We expect more than 200,000 players on Virtual Regatta Offshore and Inshore over the next six months.”

In addition, 2023 is being touted as the year of the Metaverse for Virtual Regatta and The Ocean Race, who are being supported by Accenture.

“The Metaverse is a new and exclusive experience developed by Virtual Regatta and The Ocean Race, which soon onwards will allow people to follow the physical and virtual race in an all-digital race village,” Gautier said.

“Gamers and enthusiasts will be able to meet, watch the physical and digital event, and much more. This virtual reality setup will further enhance the fan experience.”

As official timekeeper of The Ocean Race in real life and on Virtual Regatta Offshore, Ulysse Nardin will present an official race watch to the winning eSkipper of the 2023 edition of The Ocean Race on Virtual Regatta Offshore.

A further eSkipper having crossed the finish line of the seven stages of the race will also have the opportunity to win a DIVER watch in a draw by bailiff. And there will be more prizes on offer as a reward for eSkippers’s skills throughout the race.

Another accolade up for grabs is the Stopover E-Cup, which will be based on Virtual Regatta Inshore and consists of eight IMOCA challenges taking place during the stop overs of The Ocean Race in between legs. The winners will be qualified for the semi-final of the eSailing World Championship and will receive prizes awarded by The Ocean Race.

The winner of each challenge of Virtual Regatta Inshore will qualify for a live final which will be broadcast in Ocean Live Park in Genoa and on social networks at the beginning of July. The winner will qualify for the semi-final of the eSailing World Championship.

For more details, see the official Virtual Regatta website HERE.

Alexandre Kowalski (AlexK – RS) of France swept to victory in the 2022 eSailing World Championship Final in front of a live crowd at the Ocean Live Park in Alicante, Spain, to take home the title and a cash prize courtesy of Virtual Regatta.

The ten best eSailors from around the world met in person to decide the winner over 12 races using F50, Laser, Far East 28r, 49er, Nacra 17, Offshore Racer, Star and J70, with the final race worth double points.

A total of 70,000 new players began the season and each of the top 10 has had to navigate a year-long championship to end the season in the top ten places. Positions were also awarded to the winners of major regattas and Special Events.

AlexK - RS took the lead after race 7, in the J70 class, when just five points separated the top three. He narrowly missed out on victory in a very close race 8 but maintained a four-point lead over Hidde – RS, who took the line honours, as the gap widened to nine points to Farley – RS in third. From then on, AlexK - RS was able to extend his lead. He won the ninth round, leaving closest challenger – Hidde – RS back in seventh. Farley – RS made a late surge in races 10 and 11 when AlexK – RS struggled, reducing the gap to just six points and then three going into the medal race with Hidde – RS 14 points back in third.

The stage was set for a nail-biting medal race worth double points, offering one last chance for someone to emerge from the fleet and take victory – like last year when Carlos Parejo (UOL Carlos Parejo) of Spain shocked everyone by leaping from sixth position into first place in the final race.

History nearly repeated itself as Rolex World Sailor of the Year nominee Bart Lambriex (NED) took the victory and jumped from seventh to third, but crucially AlexK – RS was able to finish in third, three places ahead of nearest challenger Farley – RS and claim overall victory by nine points.

Relive the action on the World Sailing YouTube channel:

Speaking after the race, Alexandre said, "It’s amazing, because all ten players tonight were very good. From the first race to the last, I did not know who would win. It’s a big surprise and I am very happy. Two races before the medal race I saw there was a little gap and maybe we can play for the title, but not before the medal race did I think it was really possible."

Runner-up Arthur Farley said, "I had a really good start in the medal race but then I had to take a penalty. After that it was finished. I am super happy for Alex, he was great. This was my third final, I enjoy playing, especially with my team – called RS – and it’s really good to see us come out on top."

Final Standings (display name in brackets):

1 Alexandre Kowalski (AlexK - RS) FRA
2 Arthur Farley (Farley - RS) GBR
3 Bart Lambriex (Bart Lambriex) NED
4 Gaétan de Kat (gadeK) FRA
5 Jonathan Koch (UOL Roxyjoni) GER
6 Hidde Schraffordt (Hidde - RS) NED
7 Amos Di Benedetto (AmosDB) ITA
8 Yannis Kokonias (GRE-9 LDLN) GRE
9 Filippo Lanfranchi (Velista 71 LDLN) ITA
10 Alberto Carraro (MCES-Alberto) ITA

Scott Over, World Sailing Commercial Director, said, "The growth of eSailing over the past five years has been incredible to see, and to welcome such a high-quality fleet for the first in-person final since Bermuda in 2019 shows the strength of the scene. Congratulations to all 10 players for getting to the final; the eSailing World Championship was intense all year and continues to evolve into one of the most exciting eSports around. After the eNations Cup, the eSailing World Championship has shown the depth of the sport and the potential for sailors and non-sailors alike to test themselves in true-to-life scenarios on some of the fastest boats in international sailing. I would like to thank The Ocean Race and the city of Alicante for hosting here ahead of the start of one of the world’s most iconic races."

Philippe Guigne, founder and CEO of Virtual Regatta, added, "The calibre of competition in both this season’s eSailing Nations Cup and World Championships has been higher than ever before. Both events have set the standard for future seasons to follow. We are delighted to see so many new players taking part for the first time and look forward to the continued growth of the platform as we now move into the 2023 season."

The 2022 eSailing World Championships have kicked off with players around the world battling it out in the season opener in the Bay of Cádiz, Spain.

Thousands of eSailors have competed to get a head start in this prestigious event, which will see weekly regattas on the world’s most popular boats as well as a number of new high profile events to be launched this year, on the back of last year’s success with the Olympic Virtual Series, eAmerica’s Cup, eSailGP and the Hempel World Cup Series regattas.

A host of brand new venues will also be revealed, as well as the possibility of national rankings via the World Sailing Member National Associations - and there will be multiple opportunities to advance to the later stages of the Championships at the end of September.

A total of forty sailors will make the grade for the semi-final at the end of October, with just ten sailors heading into the Grand Final in early November competing for a USD $10,000 prize pool.

2022 marks the fifth year of World Sailing’s partnership with Virtual Regatta, the world-leading digital sailing platform, and the fourth anniversary of the highly popular eSailing World Championships.

“The eSailing World Championships have become a huge successful strategic tool to promote our sport since launching in 2018,” explained Scott Over, World Sailing’s Commercial Director.

“We’re looking to engage even more eSailors this year by introducing new events, classes and rankings via our Member National Associations.

“Our 2022 season is also providing more structured competition and opportunities to race, regardless of whether you are new to the game or a veteran looking to climb up the rankings and win trophies.”

Last year’s eSailing World Championships Grand Final was won by 19-year-old Carlos Parejo (UOL Carlos Parejo) of Seville, Spain, who crossed the finish line surrounded by his family. This year he is back: “I really hope to qualify for the Grand Final again this year - I know we’ll have tough competition!” he said.

“eSailing has been such an important part of supporting our loyal global sailing community,” said Raphaël Grisoni, Managing Director of Mount Gay Rum, World Sailing’s Official Partner of eSailing.

“This all started when physical regattas were no longer possible due to the pandemic. eSailing has helped us to stay connected to sailors all over the world and we are very excited about our partnership with World Sailing into the future.”

The 2022 eSailing World Championships is available to play on Virtual Regatta Inshore and available on Desktop, iOS or Android.

France won the 2021 eSailing Nations Cup last week beating Great Britain in the final. The individual world title was won by Spaniard Carlos Parejo.

A huge weekend in eSailing saw two major tournaments come to a close. The eSailing Nations Cup final saw France take on Great Britain in the live virtual final, while the eSailing World Championship featured the ten qualifiers in a winner take all.

In the Nations Cup Final, a tense battle saw France emerge victorious 5-4 over defending champions Team GBR in the best of nine series.

The French team was captained by Alexandre Gouin (MCES Sinjid) and featured Barbara Cavyn (Barbie22), Stéphane Galzin (MCES ValentineLisa), François Méheut (COOL FanchVR), Tangi le Goff (MCES_tangi), Luc Pruvot (Ginsu 2000), David Krief (Juyfra), Xavier Noblin (COOL xav-nice), Cyril Boivin (Cricqueville), Baptiste Gully (LaMerNoire), Tristan Péron (UOL_asere), Tim Carpentier (MCES pepito) and Elouan le Coq (L1).

Fifteen nations began the season, which 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.

France and Great Britain were the two left standing after Denmark, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Japan, The Netherlands, Oman, Turkey, Poland, Russia, Spain, Sweden and Switzerland had all been eliminated.

Italy beat Spain 5-4 in the bronze medal race. All finalists receive a cap and rum from Mount Gay.

Meanwhile, Spanish eSailor Carlos Parejo (UOL Carlos Parejo) shocked the fleet as he came from way back in the eSailing World Championship final medal race to earn double points and take the win away from favourite and race leader Tristan Péron (UOL_asere) of France. The 19-year-old from Sevilla was surrounded by his family and crossed the finishing line to raucous cheers, claiming the $10,000 USD grand prize courtesy of Virtual Regatta along with a red cap and rum from Mount Gay.

The final was staged over eight races, using Star, Nacra 1, Laser, J70, 49er and F50 boats. The final medal race took place on the J70.

Final rankings:

1. Carlos Parejo (UOL Carlos Parejo) – ESP

2. Francisco Pinheiro de Melo (VIT – Chico) - POR

3. Tim Carpentier (MCES pepito) - FRA

The grand final was the culmination of a season lasting ten months with week-long regattas throughout the year to determine qualifiers. Rocco Guerra (MCES rock) from Italy secured his spot in the final in March by winning the America’s Cup. Tristan Peron (UOL_asere) of France qualified in June after winning the inaugural Olympic Virtual Series.

The eSailing World Championship rankings closed in September with Great Britain’s Arthur Farley (VIT Arthur Farley) top of the leader board and an automatic qualifier for the final. Mike O'Donovan (Deja Vu) from Great Britain secured his place at the eSailGP Final in October.

Playoffs held in October left 747 players racing for the final six spots in the final. A total of 1982 over the decisive weekend narrows the fleet down to the top ten eSailing players of the year.

The Nations Cup and eSailing World Championships Final was watched by 52,000 unique viewers, a record for the finals.

Scott Over, World Sailing Commercial Director, said, “Since launching in 2020, the Nations Cup has added an exciting new dimension to eSailing. To go into the final weekend with 15 registered national teams shows excellent progress and with more national championships taking place every month, the future of eSailing looks bright. The action and emotion showed during the Nations Cup races and World Championship final today was truly inspiring. We fully expect more countries to sign up to take part in 2022 and raise the level of competition to new heights.”

Managing Director of Mount Gay, Raphaël Grisoni commented, “The eSailing competitions have made the sport more accessible, more popular and brought the community together in new ways. During a period where racing on the water had been on an enforced break, the opportunity to support eSailing was more important than ever. We are proud to be able to give back to the sport of sailing and show appreciation for those who have always supported Mount Gay.”

Philippe Guigne, founder and CEO of Virtual Regatta, added, “This season’s eSailing Nations Cup and World Championships have been a huge success. The event has been a hit since the very first year and on the back of the Olympic Virtual Series we have seen more players than ever before, along with more viewers than before. The level of competition has improved every year and we now look ahead to the next season.”

The nine-month season has come to an end, concluding with the eSailing World Championship PlayOffs which took place this weekend (1st – 4th October), and the eSailGP Grand Finale. The ten places at the Live Final have now been decided!

Four spots were awarded automatically through some of the top events in the season. The America’s Cup Champion from Italy Rocco Guerra (MCES rock) secured his spot early on in the year in March and the inaugural Olympic Virtual Series winner decided one spot that was taken by Tristan Peron (UOL asere) of France in June. When the eSailing World Championship rankings ended in September, the top of the leader board Arthur Farley (VIT Arthur Farley) from Britain secured his seat at the final. The eSailGP Final on the 15th October was the last automatic qualification spot up for grabs which was snatched by Mike O’Donovan (Deja Vu) from GBR.

Arthur Farley from GBR is looking forward to the final and commented that he is "really happy to have won my spot in the eSailing World Championship Final after being ranked number 1 player in the world rankings 2021. Lots of races and time but it all paid off! My focus is now on eSailGP grand final, eSailing Nations cup and the final!"

That left the 747 players in the eSailing World Championship PlayOffs to compete for the remaining six places in the ten-player final, scheduled to take place live on 6 November. 1982 races took place throughout the PlayOffs, with each player doing an average distance of 1220 nautical miles! The PlayOffs were raced in the 49er in the virtual waters of San Francisco, the Nacra 17 in Sydney and the J/70 in Rio de Janeiro.

21 countries were represented in the PlayOffs, and the 2021 Finalists include players from Portugal, Greece and Japan for the first time.

Francisco Melo (Chico), representing Portugal in the eSailing World Championship after coming 1st in the PlayOffs, and also currently part of team Portugal in the eSailing Nations Cup tournament said it was "Very tough racing with always 2/3 top players in the race, not an easy course, a lot of shifts but feeling very comfortable in J70 and manage to qualify! Didn’t sailed as much in some of the other boats (49er and Nacra 17 ). Now into finals!"

Greece’s Yannis Kokonias (Grr-9), proudly becoming the first Greek eSailor to take a place in the final said "Everything was judged in only 1-2 races in a series of 20, I am satisfied that I reached my target of qualifying with the fewest races and playing fair to everyone as I try to do in all season."

The 2021 eSailing World Championship will be launched today as the race to win this year’s title – and a prize of USD $10,000 – officially begins.

Launched in partnership between World Sailing, the International Federation for the sport, and Virtual Regatta, the world-leading digital sailing platform, this year will be the fourth season following the launch of the inaugural Championship in 2018.

Last year’s World Champion was Joan Cardona (ESP), a real-life member of Spain SailGP Team, following on from Velista71 (ITA) in 2019 and L1 (FRA) in 2018.

All players are now invited to play and compete in the 2021 World Championship on Virtual Regatta Inshore via Desktop, iOS or Android.

Today’s launch starts the season off with the first-ever Mount Gay Challenge – a week-long event made up of three days of training, a three-day qualifier and a final.

It's arguably the case that the best way through lock-down is to assume it's all going to last a bit longer – maybe a lot longer - than most people think. Thus the most effective way to negotiate your way through it is to give yourself over with total dedication to the alternative virtual pursuits which have emerged online as the outside world comes to a halt, such that - in your enclosed little world - the time flies entertainingly by.

Thus although there were old salts whose response to the new availability of the Virtual Regatta in April 2020 was to grumble that if they wanted a nautical version of an entertainment arcade then they'd have long since been going to a nautical entertainment arcade, there were many others – almost a thousand – who have taken to it with enthusiasm.

The precise number since April 2020 is 960, and from it there emerged the ten top Irish eSailors of such ability that they reached international standards and two of them – Colin Kavanagh of Howth YC, and Cillian Dickson of Lough Ree YC (and HYC) – contested the final, with Colin Kavanagh emerging as the champion.

Far from being a screen addict, he's very much of the real world, racing in the local intensity of the Puppeteer 22 Class as the continuation of a sailing career which started with Mirrors at Sutton aged 12, and went on through Laser 2s, offshore 40-footers, 1720s, and Etchells 22s, while a couple of years as an instructor gave him a taste for serving sailing, such that he is now an Irish Sailing Board Member and has been on the Olympic Steering Group since 2013.

In the current pandemic stasis, he's the perfect guide for the Howth Yacht Club-hosted eRacing Introductory on Wednesday evening (January 20th) at 7 pm – sign on here

Great Britain have been crowned the world’s best eSailing nation following a 6-3 victory over Spain in the inaugural eSailing Nations Cup Final.

After a month-long competition that featured 13 leading eSailing nations, Great Britain, captained by Mike O’Donovan aka @dejavusailing, convincingly beat Spain across the nine-race series. The series of races featured different classes, fleet sizes and racecourses that tested the teams' depth and performance.

Streamed across the Olympic Channel and across World Sailing’s Channels – click here to watch back – the Final welcomed two teams of ten that included at least one male and one female, one captain, two certified sailors and the top four sailors from the National Championships.

Great Britain came out with intent and advanced to a 2-0 lead. Spain pulled a race back but the next three races went the way of Great Britain who sealed the deal with three races to spare.

Team captain @dejavusailing commented, “It was some really tight racing. There were some high heart beats. We were aiming for the races that were slightly earlier. We weren’t expecting much for the ten v tens but having won the 49er race it was good to have that boost going into the further races.”

Great Britain got off to the perfect start in the first race of the Final. In a ten v ten fleet race in the 49er, the team with the lowest cumulative points score, based on the low point scoring system, would take the race victory.

TP52 (GBR) clinched the fleet race win for his nation and was followed by four Spanish rivals. However, a stream of British sailors followed and, with 103 points compared to Spain’s 107, they were able to claim the victory.

The second race of the series was a Match Race in the Star between the top two female racers. Isswizz (GBR) took on Patri Reino (ESP) in a race that saw both eSailors share the lead. However, the victory was decided on the final downwind as isswizz put enough wind shadow over Patri Reino to claim the race win in a photo finish, putting Great Britain 2-0 up.

Spain pulled a point back in the third race of the series, a 5v5 ILCA Dinghy fleet race. A dominant performance by the Spanish team saw Louis54TOP and Samuel Beneyto take the top two spots that handed them the victory.

In the 3v3 eF50 race, Spain grabbed the early initiative and were on track to take the victory. However, LDLN_Bandido (ESP) disconnected, which handed Great Britain the initiative. @dejavusailing, Bell Rock and Hugh Brayshaw capitalised and grabbed the victory for Great Britain to put them 3-1 up.

Great Britain extended their lead to 4-1 in the 2v2 J/70 fleet race. Joan Cardona (ESP) won the race and was followed by Great Britain’s Speedy_1 and @dejavusailing in second and third. Hector Dominguez (ESP) finished in fourth. As the scores were tied, the rules of the event stated that those not holding first place would take the win which meant the race went the way of Great Britain.

With match point to Great Britain, Spain sent in Cruzolator to face @dejavusailing in the sixth race, a match race in the Star. The race ebbed and flowed as the rivals shared the lead. On the final leg to the finish, Cruzolator inflicted a penalty on @dejavusailing and grabbed the advantage. But @dejavusailing remained in contention and it went to a photo finish that was judged to have gone the way of @dejavusailing as he claimed the eSailing Nations Cup title for Great Britain.

Three further races were held but the victory had already been secured for the British team.

Spain picked up victory in race 7, a 3v3 J/70 race, and in race 8, a 2v2 eF50 race. Great Britain picked up a convincing victory in the final race of the series, a 10v10 Nacra 17 race, to seal a 6-3 victory.

Up next for eSailing is the eSailing World Championship Final which will be held on Saturday 7 November from 21:00 UTC. British eSailing Nations Cup Champions @dejavusailing and Donnie Gillies will be on the startline and will be joined by Nations Cup rivals Joan Cardona, Cruzolator and ramon732@541TOP from Spain. Further contenders include StipecoachCROATIA (CRO), Kaan Mazlumca (TUR), MCES valentinelisa (FRA) and MCES pepitõ (FRA).

On Friday 6 November, Great Britain and Spain will go head-to-head in the inaugural eSailing Nations Cup Final starting at 21:00 UTC.

Great Britain captain, Mike O'Donovan, and Spain captain, Carlos Paz, will lead their teams of ten in a best-of-nine race series. Different classes, fleet sizes and racecourses will be used to test the teams’ depth and performance, with the best all-round team claiming the title of best eSailing nation.

The third eSailing World Championship Final will commence at 21:00 UTC on Saturday 7 November. The top eight qualifiers plus the eSailGP champion will compete in a seven-race format, which concludes with a deciding Medal Race.

Both Finals will be streamed live on the Olympic Channel and across World Sailing’s channels.

Scott Over, World Sailing’s Commercial Director, commented, "We are delighted to receive the support of the Olympic Channel to broadcast two huge eSailing events this coming weekend. Participation and engagement within the eSailing community continues to grow.

"We believe we are the first eSport to be broadcast live on the Olympic Channel and their support marks another positive step forward for the global awareness of eSailing."

Philippe Guige, Founder and CEO of Virtual Regatta, World Sailing’s eSailing Partner, commented, "Through our partnership with World Sailing, the global presence of eSailing continues to expand and grow each month. We are excited to be working with World Sailing to bring the eSailing World Championship and Nations Cup Final to the Olympic Channel and showcasing the discipline to their global community of sports fans."