Facebook has signed a deal with ESL, the world’s biggest eSports company, to exclusively stream two of the world’s biggest eSports competitions.
The deal began yesterday with the launch of ESL One on Facebook, featuring Dota 2 and CS:GO. The first event this year will be ESL One Genting 2018 which runs until 28th January, and brings 16 of the world’s best Dota 2 teams to Malaysia for a six-day event. The deal also includes a weekly five-minute show celebrating the Dota community on Facebook Watch.
The world’s top Counter-Strike: Global Offensive competition, will all stream exclusively on Facebook, kicking off with the upcoming Season Seven. It will launch on 13th February and run for four seasons of Pro League, through December 2019.
The events will be streamed in English and Portuguese and will be available in 1080p/60fps. Both Pro League and ESL One will also be streamed in VR. Facebook says it’s also planning multiple options for watching competitions in VR, starting with Facebook 360 for Gear VR app which will provide an immersive, big screen viewing experience for ESL competitions on the go
“Building on our successful partnership, we believe Facebook is the perfect platform to bring both Pro League and ESL One competitions to new and existing audiences,” said Nik Adams, senior vice president global media rights and distribution, ESL.
“With Facebook broadening their portfolio of top-tier live sports events and leagues, we are excited to add this content to their lineup and guarantee the very best of viewing experiences to our passionate fans.”
