ESL and DreamHack enter streaming deal with Twitch

Esports company ESL and DreamHack, the gaming lifestyle festival, have announced a three-year deal with Twitch. The agreement will see some esports tournaments organised by ESL and DreamHack live streamed to the service exclusively on Twitch in 2021 and 2022.

The deal confirms Twitch as the global digital media partner of major ESL and DreamHack competitions on a non-exclusive basis in 2020, before acquiring exclusivity of English language digital live streaming of major events in 2021 and 2022. As part of the deal, all tournaments streamed in English within ESL Pro Tour for CS:GO and StarCraft II & Warcraft III, including the ESL Pro League, ESL One, Intel® Extreme Masters, DreamHack Masters, DreamHack Open, ESL National Championships, will be exclusively on Twitch in 2021 and 2022.

“ESL and Twitch have been key players in the history of esports as we know it,” said Benjamin Vallat, SVP of Alliances and Corporate Development at Twitch. “The continuation of our partnership will strengthen not only the content offerings for fans, but also the greater esports community that ESL, Dreamhack, and Twitch have cultivated over the years.”

As part of the partnership, Twitch will become a centralised hub for streaming ESL and DreamHack competitions, and will work directly with ESL and DreamHack to coordinate broadcast integrations and maximise sponsorships of  future esports tournaments.

“Live-streaming esports has belonged to Twitch in recent years.” DreamHack Co-CEO Roger Lodewick commented. “As we continue to host some of the world’s largest esports tournaments, it feels only natural to work even closer with Twitch to provide the best gaming experience for fans, as well as safeguard the future of the esports industry.”