Racing in Gran Turismo for a €8,000 prize pool? The next season of Porsche Esports Racing Japan starts next month.
Photo credit: Gran Turismo Twitter
The Porsche Esports Racing Japan (PERJ) tournament returns with its second season – including an offline Grand Final. A prize pool of ¥1,000,000 (around €8,000) is waiting for participants. Cash prizes for Gran Turismo tournaments have been rare in recent years. While the Electronic Sports World Cup offered a staggering $32,000.00 for its players in 2006, the latest events were not as generous.
The event is only open to Japanese residents. While players from other countries can race in the preliminary rounds if they own a Japanese PSN account, they are not allowed to play in the Grand Finals.
Speaking of the pinnacle of the PERJ: the tournament leads to an offline Grand Final where the nine best participants will face each other. A tenth player who races their way through another offline event in Tōkyō will complete the list of competitors.
| Round | Date | Circuit |
| Round 1 | October 4 | Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps |
|---|---|---|
| Round 2 | October 18 | Circuit de la Sarthe |
| Round 3 | November 1 | Autodromo Nazionale di Monza |
| Round 4 | November 15 | Red Bull Ring |
| Round 5 | November 22 | Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya |
Champion of the first season was 23-year old Tatsuya Sugawara. The latest event took place in 2019 and Sugawara claimed the trophy in June. He is a well-known racer in the Japanese GT scene and also frequently participates in international events as well, where he recently represented his home-country in the GT Esports Nations Cup. It will be interesting to see if he can defend his title in the upcoming season.
Night of champions 2019にて、Porsche Esports Racing Japan Season1の表彰を受けました🏆
— 菅原 達也 Tatsuya Sugawara (@momochiism) November 19, 2019
最高の気分でモナコにいけます✈ pic.twitter.com/J9X3W5wBSS