The excitement lived up to the occasion as Jack Hammer4658 was crowned 2024 MotoGP™ eSport Championship after a thrilling finale held live at the Milan Games Week!
Just 28 points separated the quartet of Ducati Lenovo eSport Team’s danielealoè26, Jack Hammer4658 (Red Bull KTM Factory Racing), Trast73 (Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP) and adriaan_26 (Repsol Honda) going into the final round. But with double points on offer for the final Sprint and two races of the year, all was still to play for.
But it was young Brit Jack Hammer4658who took home the crown thanks to holding his nerve and scoring victories in all three bows, which threw up some frantic, unpredictable racing!
The dramatic season finale was broadcasted live from Milan Games Week, where the the stunning Italian city was the scene of the crowning of this year’s MotoGP™ eSport Champion.
In an action-packed live broadcast, six-time World Champion and MotoGP™ Legend Max Biaggi was on hand to offer his thoughts on all the action while commentating alongside Liam Hodgins and Connor Doherty, as well as presenting the prizes to the three fastest gamers from 2024.
The final round saw the fastest in the world taking on three of MotoGP™’s most epic tracks! The Circuit of Jerez Angel Nieto hosts the Sprint before Italy’s wonderful Mugello Circuit is the scene of Race 1 in wet conditions and Austin’s tricky, technical Circuit of the Americas the scene of Race 2.
The four-lap opening encounter was a classic. adriaan_26 got the holeshot but was soon chased down by Jack Hammer4658 and danielealoè26. The lead trio then engaged in all-out war, passing each other by the corner at the start of lap three. The final lap would come down to a fight between Jack Hammer4658 and danielealoè26. The Italian then crashed out in dramatic fashion on the final lap, meaning Jack Hammer4658 took victory from adriaan_26 and Sbadalongo.
Race 1 was similarly high on drama. The contest began in wet conditions before the track dried. Trast73 decided to gamble by pitting from the lead at the end of lap four to change from wet to slick tyres, leaving adriaan_26 and Jack Hammer4658 to fight at the front. And while Trast73 made excellent progress to fight through to seventh, it wasn’t enough to catch the leaders. Jack Hammer4658 took a second win ahead of PieroRicciuti55 and adriaan_26 after danielealoè26 was demoted to sixth on the final lap after being given a Long Lap Penalty.
That left the championship finely poised going into the final race with Jack Hammer4658 23 points ahead of danielealoè26 and 27 of adriaan_26. Even if he could then settle for second, what followed was an exhibition from the reigning World Champion, who claimed a brilliant lights to flag victory. He ended lap one 1.5s clear of the rest and was free to cruise to a second straight title from there. Over 6s behind, davideturrisi06 (Aprilia Racing eSport Team) won out in a great fight for second, with danielealoè26 third.
As a result, Jack Hammer4658 (204 points) becomes only the second gamer in history to win more than one MotoGP™ eSport crown with danielealoè26 (163 points) ending a strong year second overall. adriaan_26 was third with 149 points.
