Esports Virtual Arena, better known as EVA, is expanding its competitive esports scene. From April 14, a new European championship is arriving: the EVA Pro League. This competition marks a great milestone for competitive video gaming in virtual reality. EVA is a unique game where players compete physically in immersive arenas of 500 square meters. Here, the controller is a VR headset, and your body. Yassine Jaada, VP Esports at EVA, explains this new competition and its ambitions on the esports scene.
Comment la scène esport d’EVA a commencé ?
About 3 years ago, we started with tournaments that were a bit one-off. We organized them in the network, in different places. The circuit then evolved. There was the Coupe de France EVA, where we had 3 editions, each time with new teams every year who represented their venue, but also their city. Then we moved on to a league model. There was a League 1 and a League 2. At the end of 2025 the team said to itself that it was time to take a step forward. At that time, we had a semi-pro and amateur circuit, with more than 60 leagues in total, and more than 500 teams. From this observation, our mission was really to position VR esports as a real professional discipline as we can find on Counter-Strike or Rainbow Six Siege.
With the EVA Pro League, are you changing dimensions?
The EVA Pro League was the logical continuation of our evolution. The game’s esports ecosystem is obviously changing dimensions. We are now moving to the European scale. The league is more structured and focuses on sustainability. The teams entering the championship are well anchored in the esports world. Structures like Team Vitality, Solary or even G2 Esports allow us to benefit from their different experiences in the industry. These teams also make the project credible in the eyes of fans of the game. It’s a bit of a realization. The fact of having all these European clubs which are, for some, super successful in different games, who are interested in them, who will bring their visibility, their experience, that was a bit of the “goal” at the beginning when we wanted to launch our esports circuit. The community can also contribute to the evolution of the Pro League. EVA players can purchase in-game accessories. And part of the revenue generated by these purchases is redistributed into the competition cash prize in order to increase rewards and attract more clubs.
What makes EVA different from traditional esports?
The most striking thing is the concept itself. It’s still a competitive video game, but over 500 square meters, where we move. It’s like a workout. But beyond that, there are quite a few things that are more or less related to, I would say, traditional sport. The way players train, from a physical point of view, to get more cardio, etc. This is not necessarily something that is done on other esports games. With EVA, we find a mix of the two: the physical part, but also the tactical preparation, as we can do in other games. There are no other concepts today that allow us to do both.
Can you explain how the EVA Pro League works?
The EVA Pro League consists of eight teams. Each of them is based in a particular room and city. All matches are played remotely. It is a closed circuit, where meetings are organized once every two weeks in a format of two winning rounds (called BO3 in the industry). The championship takes place with a back-and-forth model.
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After the regular season, four teams from the EVA Pro League qualify for the EVA Summit playoffs, a tournament bringing together the game’s entire esports ecosystem. Some amateur teams can therefore participate. Initially, the competition brings together around sixty leagues which compete over several stages. The best of them will be able to oppose the teams of the EVA Pro League.
Esports games are often limited by publishers who always have the last word, how does that work for you?
The huge advantage we have is that we are the publisher and organizer of EVA events. So we have this feeling of freedom where we can do whatever we want. There are obviously limits, but we have much more flexibility in our actions. This allows us to manage partnerships, sponsorship, and of course competition formats as we wish.
Is it possible to organize events with the public like in other esports games?
For us, this is the basis. All the teams are in physical locations which are also living spaces. Even before the Pro League was announced, there were a lot of people coming there and meeting to follow the matches. Unlike other competitions, such as the LEC on League of Legendswe have this facility to bring supporters on site. It’s obviously not as much as in a stadium of 10,000 people. But fans of the game have the opportunity to attend physical matches almost every week.
