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Twitch and FACEIT have teamed up to launch a new CS:GO league titled the Esports Championship Series (ECS) with a prize pool of $3.5m (£2.4m).
It was revealed last week, via statistics from Newzoo, that esports are responsible for over 21 percent of viewership on streaming site Twitch and with more money being poured into current esports and more titles being developed for competitive gaming this will inevitably rise.
Faceit has announced that 10 teams from the States and 10 teams from Europe will participate in the initial championship. The teams themselves have funded some of the prize pool which makes them co-owners of the league.
Michele Attisani, the Co-Founder of FACEIT said of the news: “Players and teams are the heart of the eSports community and deserve the opportunity to reap the rewards of their hard work and dedication to grow eSports into a mainstream phenomenon. We make the community our first priority and as such, we’re excited to support the first eSports league that positions teams as co-owners.”
Both teams and players will truly be at the centre of this league and will form part of its governing committee. This’ll mean that they help in decisions regarding vital aspects of the league such as player’s welfare, regulatory framework, holidays, integrity and more.
Stuart Saw, the Director of Esports Strategy at Twitch stated: “The resulting system aims to solve common anxieties such as unstable incomes, unrealistic competition schedules, and inconsistent event experiences, so players can concentrate on playing their very best. Not only will players see growth through the league, the league’s supporting initiatives will help them capture value from that growth to bolster their presence, marketability, and future career prospects.”
The ECS will be shown exclusively on the Twitch platform and viewers will be able to get direct access to all matches of the league via FACEIT’s official Twitch channel.
It has also been detailed that the second season of the ECS will also include a development league, with the aim of training new teams and players. FACEIT has stated that further information on the development league will be released in the not too distant future.
