A total of 40 competitors had begun the semi-finals in October, and that now has been whittled to the very best to compete for the top honours on January 7 in the port city on Spain’s south-eastern Costa Blanca for the first in-person Championship final since Bermuda in 2019.

The winner will be decided in races using Star, Nacra 1, Laser, J70, 49er and F50 boats.

The final medal race is set to be a winner-takes-all battle on the J70 worth double points to scoop the prize money provided by Virtual Regatta.

Fresh from winning the 2022 eSailing Nations Cup, members of Team France Alexandre Kowalski, competing under the name TRAP-AlexK, and Gaétan de Kat, as gadek, will look to add to their trophy haul.

Also involved will be 2022 Rolex World Sailor of the Year nominee Bart Lambriex of The Netherlands and former eNations champion Arthur Farley from Great Britain in the custom-built eSports centre at Ocean Live Park, the race village for The Ocean Race.

The event is scheduled to be broadcast live from 3pm UTC on the World Sailing YouTube Channel.

"Now in its fifth year, eSailing has grown year on year to be one of the most exciting online sports events in the world," Scott Over, World Sailing’s commercial director said.

"We are delighted to be returning to a live final and capture the emotion and energy of intense racing in person.

"This year has seen more National Championships than any year before and we have seen more professional sailors joining the ranks to put their experience to the test against dedicated and talented eSailors.

"The finals promise to be an incredible event to mark the opening of Ocean Live Park ahead of The Ocean Race later in January."

The eSailing World Championship finals is set to take place alongside The Ocean Race and the Generalitat Valenciana a través de Distrito Digital de Alicante, a Spanish project designed to promote the digital economy.

The event marks the opening of the Ocean Live Village, the location for the first leg of The Ocean Race 2022-2023 on January 15.

"eSailing continues to prove a huge success," said Philippe Guigne, the founder and chief executive of Virtual Regatta.

"With the recent eSailing Nations Cup and World Championships we have seen over 70,000 players worldwide take part, many for the first time.

"The level of competition has improved every year and we are looking forward to an exciting live eSailing World Championship in Alicante where this year’s champion will be decided."