UK Main Event - Full Details

You told us, we listened. After the success of the 2007-08 PES Rankings finale, we wanted to know how to make it even better. Thankfully, you weren’t shy with your opinions and as a result we think the 2008-2009 UK Main Event will be one of the best Rankings events ever.

This event will be strictly invite only - those finishing in the top 64 of Rankings at the announced cut-off date of July 5th 2009 will be the lucky ones getting the invite. To be held on Saturday 1st August 2009 at Old Trafford, home of Manchester United, this event will be the fitting showcase to another top class Rankings season.

Every player attending will get a goodie bag containing prizes and gadgets worth £150 each! The overall winner of Rankings will receive an Amazon voucher worth £1500 and the runner up of Rankings will get a £500 voucher.

The winner of the UK Main Event will also walk away with a £1000 Amazon voucher, second place will get £400, third and fourth will pocket £150 vouchers and fifth to eighth will still get £50 vouchers. Including the other spot prizes that will be available on the day, that brings the total prize fund pool up to just under £14,000, the biggest prize fund ever for a UK Main Event.

The rewards don’t stop there however. The winner of Rankings and the winner of the UK Main Event will both qualify for the European Finals in the South of France - Nice to be exact - on the 3rd and 4th of October. Plus those that get there early enough will be lucky enough to go on the Old Trafford Stadium tour before the competition starts.

Registration opens at 9am sharp. All players will then be entered into a seeded Champions League style draw to determine the eight groups of eight players. Teams will be International, 10 minute matches with no extra time or penalties until the knockout stages. You are allowed to bring your own pads. The top four from each group will qualify to the knockout stage at which point all of the names will go into the hat again for another draw - this time however it’s every man for himself as the seeding disappears for the post-group stages.

The remaining 32 players will be entered into a side event, a 5 minute straight knockout tournament with further prizes up for grabs.

Food and soft drinks will be taken care of by Konami on the day with the option of a pay bar also open to those wanting a couple of beers during the day. At the end of the day, the prizes will be awarded to the lucky winners by the beautiful Rosie Jones, an added incentive to make sure you qualify for this prestigious event.

The feedback you gave us was that you wanted better prizes and were happy to sacrifice getting reimbursed for travel costs - and this year we’ve delivered. Every player is guaranteed prizes to the value of £150, something that has never happened in any previous Rankings final. You also said you wanted a change from the professional footballer prize giver - so we’ve given you the hottest young model in the country in the form of Rosie Jones. We’ve also switched the date to Saturday following your feedback. Those under 16 are to be accompanied by a guardian.

So the competition is now on - you have less than 2 WEEKS! to ensure you are high enough in the table to guarantee your entry into this must-attend event. Good luck.