It is no secret that eSports are poised to be the next big business opportunity in the global sports industry. But with the recent partnership between FaceIt and Twitch, gamers will also have the chance to benefit from the growth of the sport. Now, not only can gamers participate in a tournament with a $3.5 million payout, but as a member team, they will be granted co-ownership in the business and a seat on the governing committee.
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FaceIt, founded in 2011, is an online platform of competitions for PvP multiplayer games. The company already has over three million users and hosts more than two thousand tournaments and five million game sessions per month.
Twitch, which was founded in June 2011, is a social video platform and community for not only gamers, but for the entire video game industry, including game developers, publishers and content creators.
The two companies have launched a new eSports league called eSports Championship Series (ECS). The competition has a prize pool of $3.5 million and will be shown exclusively on Twitch. Viewers can get direct access to all the matches through the FaceIt channel on Twitch.
There will be ten teams from the United States and ten teams from Europe participating in the ECS. FaceIt and Twitch will provide these teams with travel, accommodations, on-site concierge services, high-quality tournament playing conditions, lounges and parties.
“Players and teams are the heart of the eports community and deserve the opportunity to reap the rewards of their hard work and dedication to grow esports into a mainstream phenomenon,” Michele Attisani, cofounder of Faceit stated.
Not only will the teams be competing, but also they will be co-owners of the league. As co-owners, teams will have access to revenue sharing, profits and representation on the league’s governing body. They will also have a say in how to keep the league successful and growing. The governing committee decides and enforces aspects to help the league, such as regulatory framework, integrity, players’ welfare and holidays.
“We’ve listened to what the teams and players are looking for, which is to have a bigger voice in the movement, and it inspired us to partner with Faceit to launch the ECS,” commented Stuart Saw, director of esports strategy at Twitch. “This will mark a significant and welcome change to the sport and will lead to a wider impact across the industry.”