PESRankings is the UK’s official community for Pro Evolution Soccer. On behalf of our client, Konami, we were involved with the UK finals held at Wembley Stadium.

With a circumference of 1km we were in for plenty of exercise during the course of the event! The 90,000-seater stadium provided an iconic backdrop to what for many players has been the culmination of a year’s gaming.

Walking up to the venue it was easy to get caught up in the sheer presence of what for many years has been the spiritual home of Football in the UK.

But with 230 games, 64 players, 32 consoles and one winner, we didn’t have time to get caught up in the ambiance of the iconic venue.

Setup took place the day before at Wembley, and with a display view, live updates of PESRankings and a great deal of promotion on social networking sites throughout the day of the event, we were in for a busy weekend.

Held exclusively on Microsoft Xbox 360s, all 32 gaming rigs had to be setup before the event, with three additional consoles previewing PES2011.

For the event we created a draw machine, our developers were very proud of the real ball physics implemented to sort seeded players into random groups.  This replaced the ‘names into hats’ approach of previous years.

The video draw was so much slicker than messing around with bits of paper and also very absorbing to watch with some tense moments as old rivals were drawn against each other!

We also pulled in player information from the PESRankings.com database to display a photo and all the essential statistics as the players were picked.

Once the draw was complete, the display switched to cycling through the 8 group tables (and later knockout fixtures) with a BBC-esque ticker running across the bottom of the screen. This meant that at all times players knew what stage the event was at. We could add messages to the ticker informing them of stadium tours, special guests and other important information. The superb facilities at Wembley Stadium included 10 overhead monitors allowing us to pipe the display throughout the room.

We provided official photography for the event, with those in attendance able to take part in a meet and greet / signing / photo opportunity with Kitty Lea. We captured some very tense moments throughout the day, with everyone taking the event very seriously.

Eventual winner George aka The_Greek took home the first prize of £2000 in Play.com vouchers, as well as claiming first place in the PESRankings standings.

Everyone involved put in a great deal of effort to provide a fantastic event for all those in attendance. And we look forward to our next event.