Today, Ubisoft announced the launch of its first official competition for its free-to-play PC shooter, Tom Clancy’s Ghost Recon Online. They are working with the Electronic Sports League (ESL) in Europe. And with the North American Electronic Sports League (NESL) for our friends over the pond. Players can also look forward to the new impressive tier 8 weapons, as well as a new player and developer committee, known as the ATHENA Council.

The first cup begins on Sunday September 15th at 14:00 BST. All challengers have until the start of the cup to register their entry. Once registered, players can enter a 7-week series of matches, with a new mini cup being awarded each week. Even if a team were to miss the first cup, every victory still counts. At the end of the series, the 4 teams who earn the most points will qualify for their play off finals.

The highly anticipated tier 8 weapons will be available as part of the upcoming 0.12.4 update. Due to be released on September 12th. Tier 8 is the first set of completely new weapons released since entering open beta. From the powerful Nemesis 50 sniper rifle to the beastly SPAS-12 semi-auto Shotgun, they will provide veterans with new endgame content.

The ATHENA Council sounds pretty cool. This exclusive group will meet regularly with developers to share their perspective as gamers and contribute their feedback on everything from user-interface to game design. Anyone can apply to join the council. Only a few will be chosen based on strict criteria and screening.

Official site.