The Turner Broadcasting System, in partnership with WME | IMG, has announced the debut of its new eSports league: ELEAGUE.
The season will begin on May 24th. The battleground for this new tournament will be Valve’s Counter-Strike: Global Offensive. The game is one of the most popular eSports games, and its merit as a competitive first person shooter cannot be denied; it remains one of the purest examples of uncluttered game design out there. Live event coverage will be broadcast from Turner Studios in Atlanta.
This marks an important milestone for eSports as a whole – which has found a comfortable home on Twitch – because it brings the worlds of gaming and television together. Historically, the two have shared a fairly drab relationship. If successful, perhaps ELEAGUE can capitalize on the rising popularity of eSports, and shift the tide in favor of traditional television.
The commissioner of ELEAGUE, Min-Sik Ko, said in his statement: “Our goal with ELEAGUE has always been to involve the best teams in the world and today we are proud to unveil a fantastic roster of franchises. We are eagerly anticipating the debut of ELEAGUE next month and look forward to showcasing 24 of the best CS:GO teams to a rapidly growing eSports audience.”
You can view the full season schedule HERE.
The twenty four teams that will compete with one another in the bullet-ballet are as follows:
- Teams list: Astralis
- Cloud9
- Counter Logic Gaming (CLG)
- Complexity
- Dignitas
- Echo Fox
- EnvyUs
- Faze
- FlipSid3
- Fnatic
- Gambit
- G2 Esports
- Liquid
- Luminosity
- Mousesports
- Natus Vincere (Na’Vi)
- Ninjas In Pyjamas (NiP)
- NRG
- OpTic
- Renegades
- SK Gaming
- Team SoloMid
- TyLoo
- Pro
