THE BURNING QUESTIONS
Who’s the biggest of the big three? On the hunt for a fifth consecutive DCL title (and fourth team title), Britain’s XBlades have been strong, but they haven’t been able to shake off Denmark’s APEX Racing and the USA’s Quad Force One. The trio stand head and shoulders above the rest with 1,410 points for the British defenders, 1,290 for the Danes and 1,270 for the Americans. So at Lake Zurich, it’s going to come down to whoever wants it most across 12 hours of racing for a global audience. (Given that 1.2 million fans watched the previous livestream from the Great Wall of China – no pressure!)
Could history repeat itself? Lake Zurich also hosted the DCL grand finale in 2018. In front of 10,000 fans at Rapperswil Castle, XBlades (then known as NEXXblades) clinched the championship, with Quad Force One in the runner-up position by a margin of 110 points. (APEX wouldn’t join the World Championship until the following year, when they themselves would manage to finish second overall.)
What surprises will the tracks serve up? Stunning Swiss settings have been a favorite with DCL pilots and fans ever since the very first season in 2016, but this year’s virtual campaign has enabled the track designers to add outrageously difficult features that would be impossible in real life. The eight teams will fly four different tracks across Saturday and Sunday, and they’ll be on tenterhooks until they get their first glimpse of them in Qualifying.
Who are the wildcards? The fastest pilots from an intense online competition open to Swiss and Liechtenstein residents have been named to the McDonald’s Wildcard Team. A mix of newcomers and pilots with experience on DCL’s big stage, they are: David Muller aka Nitr0 FPV, Janis Jenkel aka Gundren_Fpv, Joshua Baeriswyl aka Josh, and Daniel Blatter aka QtFPV.
HOW TO WATCH
Follow the action on Saturday and Sunday, 3 and 4 October, at 14:00 UTC, on juked.gg.
In the meantime, follow us on Twitch
TEAMS FOR THE MCDONALD’S VIRTUAL DRONE GRAND PRIX, LAKE ZURICH
XBlades Racing (GBR)
APEX Racing (Denmark)
Quad Force One (USA)
Falcons Racing (Korea)
Raiden Racing (Japan)
China Dragons (China)
Drone Sports Global (Russia)
McDonald’s Wildcard Team (Switzerland)
About DCL
The Drone Champions League (DCL) is the World Championship for professional drone racing teams: an innovative race series that blurs the lines between virtual and reality. Since 2016, DCL has drawn the world’s best drone pilots, who qualify for each Drone Grand Prix in DCL – The Game and then go on to compete on international teams in spectacular real-life settings, from global capitals to surreal natural wonders. An annual draft selection opens the door to any DCL – The Game player to be recruited into a pro team.
The LED-lit racing drones dart through the custom tracks head-to-head, reaching speeds of more than 160 km/h as the pilots fly them using virtual reality goggles. First to the finish wins, and margins are breathtakingly tight. Each DCL race is broadcast live, worldwide on TV and online. In 2020, DCL takes the season to the virtual world, recreating famous cities, and imagining fantastic new ones, inside DCL – The Game.
DCL partners include Breitling, myWorld and IQONIQ. For more information: www.dcl.aero
