Phygital’s road to the Games of the Future 2025 heats up during majors

Players participate in the phygital GOTF Majors. The games were held in 31 countries, including Montenegro, US, Brazil, Spain, and Russia

The phygital Games of the Future (GOTF) Majors have just completed in the latest qualifying stage for the GOTF 2025. The Majors were held in 31 countries, including Montenegro, USA, Brazil, Spain, and Russia.

This global tournament, being held in the UAE in November 2025, is the pinnacle of phygital sports competition – which combines digital gaming excellence with physical sporting skills – in a brand new and exciting sporting event.

In total, 1,000 teams participated in the GOTF Majors over the past nine weeks in a world-wide spectacle of phygital power and prowess. Some of the stand-out stars from the GOTF Majors include Dion Visser, a 27 year old working in veterinary medicine from the Netherlands. Following previous success at the Just Dance World Cup, he wanted to take on a new challenge.

After hearing about the GOTF qualification programme, Visser was in a hurry to find an event he could enter. At the eleventh hour, he spotted his chance and applied to participate in the Phygital Dancing GOTF Major in Montenegro.

“Literally three or four days before the global deadline I heard that I had a shot at qualifying Montenegro,” he said. “I didn’t have to think, I just went for it. I barely had any time to practice, but I’ve played so many hours on this game that I believed I could give it a good try.”

One week later, he was crowned the champion of Phygital Dancing at the GOTF Major in Montenegro. “It was the best decision of my life!” Visser said. “It’s the first time I get to compete for prize money as well. I really feel like an esports competitor now, and it’s awesome to experience this world.”

Another team making waves is world-class football team, Peñarol who sent a team made up from their football and esports team to the GOTF Major that happened in Uruguay.

Dan Merkley, chairperson of the World Phygital Community, commented: “Thank you to every phygital athlete that competed in the GOTF Majors all around the world and congratulations to those who won their tournaments. It highlights the extraordinary talent within the phygital sports community and more importantly, the global movement that is uniting diverse cultures through a shared passion for this unique blend of sports and esports.”

The GOTF Majors gave us:
• Phygital athletes participating in 31 countries
• 71 events were held across multiple disciplines:
o 30 in Phygital Football
o 18 in Phygital Basketball
o 15 in Phygital Dancing
o 8 in Phygital Shooter
• In total, 1,000 teams participated with:
o 408 teams competing in Phygital Football
o 256 in Phygital Basketball
o 232 in Phygital Dancing
o 104 in Phygital Shooter