Esports Twitter agrees to live stream CSGO events
Esports Twitter agrees to live stream CSGO events. Image credit: Briank

The American social network Twitter announced a partnership with the Eleague tournament. The company agreed to broadcast the Season One finals of ‘Counter-Strike: Global Offensive’ live the last week of July.

The announcement follows previous partnerships both from Twitter and other games with a fanbase large enough to inspire mass events such as the Eleague. Live coverage of the event will be done by TBS in the United States, whereas gaming fans around the world with no access to live broadcasts of the games can access Twitch and now Twitter.

Eleague Season One 2016 semifinals and finals will take place at the Cobb Energy Performing Arts Centre in Atlanta, Georgia this July 29 and 30.

CS: GO Pro players have good salaries, fame and the opportunity to earn glory 

‘Counter-Strike: Global Offensive’ is a multiplayer fps (first-person shooter) video game and the fourth title in the Counter-Strike game saga. The first Counter-Strike was a massive hit among PC gamers back in 1999. The most recent title in the franchise, ‘Global Offensive’, was released in 2012. Along with League of Legends, ‘CS: GO’ is one of the games that gave birth to the Electronic Sports scene.

Much like regular sports competitions, the soaring popularity of ‘CS: 6GO’ has attracted the attention of the media, sponsors, and companies that have quickly gathered into a fast-evolving industry.

Among the major professional competitions that count with the official blessing from Valve Corporation, the developers of the “Counter-Strike” series are the tournaments held by ESL (Electronic Sports League), MLG (Major League Gaming) and Dreamhack. However, the Eleague tournament has been the first one to secure a live broadcast feed on Twitter despite not being a major competition sponsored by Valve.

The Eleague is a large format competition in which several teams play against each other for a chance at winning the title, the prize and the prestige that comes with it.

The Eleague is a structured tournament similar to soccer competitions. The whole event lasts ten weeks, and the initial stage, the ‘group phase’, takes the first six weeks. In total, there are six groups formed by four teams, and the winners move onto the next part of the event.

Starting on May 24 with an off week in between the group stage and the next stage, the quarter-finalists then play matches over two days, while the semifinals and finals take place during the last weekend of July.

The event is produced by Turner Broadcasting System, Inc., a Time Warner company in a joint venture with WME | IMG, the multinational media event giant and representatives of world-renowned organizations like the NFL, the UFC, and the Miss Universe contest.

For the global competition, Turner has invested in the construction of an eSports arena located at the Turner Studios facility in Atlanta, a space measuring 10,000 square feet with capacity for a live studio audience.

Moreover, the American media company has also invested in other facilities conditioned to make of the Eleague a high-standard event, among which are training rooms for the teams and several studios for side-content related to the tournament.

The teams participating in this first edition of the Eleague are already well-known, as they tight-knit “Global Offensive” community has been witness to their stellar trajectories.

Seasoned veterans and ascending stars are set to meet on the battlefield, as teams like Fnatic, Liquid, Ninjas in Pyjamas, Luminosity, SK Gaming Cloud9 and Virtus Pro all compete for the $1.4 million prize.

UPDATE: Virtus Pro are the winners of Eleague Season One 2016!

The Polish team faced the Swedish favorites, Team Fnatic, on an exciting best-out-of-three match in which Virtus Pro reigned supreme after winning two consecutive rounds.

Reinventing Twitter for Live Audiences

For anyone who has used Twitter in the past or knows how it works, it is no secret that the microblogging platform holds enormous potential for instant coverage of live events.

From the news to award ceremonies, Twitter has been the primary source for live and constant updates ever since its launch back in 2006. However, the craze has faded a little ten years later and after previous attempts at revamping the platform, the San Francisco-based company has taken a new approach to exploit the social network’s potential.

Twitter has struck exclusive deals with major sports organizations like the NFL, the MLS, and the NBA to provide live broadcasting and side coverage for season games and major events.

These moves by Twitter follow similar initiatives from the social network giant Facebook, who partnered with Activision, game developers and sponsors of Major League Gaming, to stream-related events on their platform.

Despite betting controversies and some drug-related incidents, the “Counter-Strike: Global Offensive” competitive community remains as strong as ever, with upcoming tournaments in the future both from Turner and others.

Turner will hold an “Overwatch Open” a tournament presented by Eleague, Faceit, and Blizzard with a $300,000 prize for the winners of the tournament starting on July 23.

Season Two of the “Counter-Strike: Global Offensive” Eleague tournament will take place in October 2016.

Source: Eleague

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