The two main Counter-Strike: Global Offensive professional tournament organizers – ESL and DreamHack, have announced an exclusive broadcasting deal with Twitch for all English channels in 2021 and 2022.
Moving out of Facebook and back to the Mecca of esports streaming
ESL and DreamHack, both subsidiaries of Modern Times Group, both premier CS:GO tournament organizers, will be focusing their English live streams solely on Twitch during the next couple of years. The deal includes all of the companies’ events, which include well established CS:GO events like the ESL Pro League, DreamHack Masters, Intel Extreme Masters, DreamHack Open, ESL One, etc.
An interesting topic is whether the rights also cover potential Major events ESL or DreamHack might host during the deal’s active period. ESL is set to organize the next CS:GO Major as it is, but it should fall in late 2020 as long as the coronavirus pandemic doesn’t completely get out of hand. Our guess is that exceptions might be made for Major tournaments, but it’s nothing more than that – a guess.
Speaking of exceptions, there is a minor loophole in the deal. Some already established regional contracts would still allow for local broadcasting partners to use a different platform if so they choose.
This is a welcomed move even with the inevitable shred of doubt that any exclusion move usually comes along with. ESL’s previous such deal was with Facebook back in 2018 and it ended up a viewing nightmare. The community made their feelings clear lightning fast and apparently ESL have taken note. Twitch has not been letting viewers down so far, so we have every reason to believe that watching ESL/DreamHack CS:GO events in the next two years will be a jolly experience.
