Esports has already conquered livestreaming. It’s infiltrating cable. And it’s next target is Twitter.
Eleague announced today that it has partnered with the social media platform, which will provide live streaming coverage of the semi-finals and championship matches for the first season of its Counter-Strike: Global Offensive tournament. According to Turner, which runs Eleague along with WME | IMG, this is the first esports event presented live on Twitter. Research firm SuperData expects the esports market to reach $1.23 billion by 2019.
“Twitter is the native social platform for esports, and this partnership provides our passionate fans with an additional opportunity to consume Eleague content as we reach the pinnacle of our first season,” said Christina Alejandre, general manager of Eleague and vice president of esports at Turner Sports, in a press release sent to GamesBeat. “We’re excited for our first Eleague championship and look forward to offering these content experiences to our high-engaged fan base.”
So far, Eleague has been airing on TBS every Friday night. Livestreams of its events are also on Twitch. The Counter-Strike semifinals take place on Friday, July 29, with the championship happening on Saturday, July 30.
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“Esports fans go to Twitter to see and talk about what is happening now in competitive gaming,” said Anthony Noto, Twitter’s chief financial officer, in the release. “Gamers are one of the largest and most engaged audiences on Twitter, and we are thrilled to partner with Turner and WME I IMG to bring them the live content from Eleague and Twitter commentary they are already looking for, all on one screen.”
Eleague also recently announced a tournament for Overwatch, Blizzard’s recent team-based shooter.
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