Racers, start your engines! Mario Kart 8 Deluxe European Championship qualifiers start this Saturday 19th of August!

17th August, 2023 – Nintendo is searching for Europe’s best Mario Kart 8 Deluxe players in the first-ever Mario Kart 8 Deluxe European Championship, and the action all kicks off with the first of three qualifiers this Saturday 19th August. Europe’s top 24 players – eight from each round – will race it out in the live grand final in Germany in early October to decide Europe’s Mario Kart 8 Deluxe champion.

To take part in qualifiers, players with an active Nintendo Switch Online membership should join the Tournament in-game during the active period by selecting Online Play, Tournaments, Search by Code and inputting the relevant tournament code. In qualifiers, racers will earn points based on their finishing position in races, and when the dust settles, each bout’s eight top-scoring players will qualify for the grand final.

Qualifiers run during the below periods:

• Saturday 19th August, 16:00 – 20:00 CEST, Tournament Code 0980-1145-8091
• Friday 8th September, 17:00 – 21:00 CEST, Tournament Code 3959-7481-4251
• Sunday 17th September, 15:00 – 19:00 CEST, Tournament Code 3626-8881-7707

Qualifying players progress to the Nintendo European Championships 2023 on 7th and 8th October, taking place at VILCO in Bad Vilbel, Frankfurt am Main, Germany. As well as Mario Kart 8 Deluxe, the two-day event is the culmination of heated pan-European competition in Splatoon 3, where Europe’s top 12 teams will compete in group and knockout stages, splatting it out to lift the coveted golden trophy.

Fans will be able to apply for free spectator tickets in the future to cheer on competitors in-person, and the whole event will be livestreamed online for spectators around the world. Stay tuned for more details nearer the event.