Esports Solution Provider Maincast has Acquired Broadcasting Rights to DreamHack and ESL’s CS:GO Tournament Circuit, ESL Pro Tour, for 2020-2023
Maincast Also Acquired Rights to to ESL’s Dota 2 tournaments and DreamHack’s DreamLeague
Agreement Includes Regional Exclusivity for Russia and CIS, including Ukraine and Georgia
STOCKHOLM — DreamHack, the premier gaming lifestyle festival, and ESL, the world’s largest esports company, (both part of Modern Times Group MTG AB) today announced that Maincast — an esports solutions provider, known mostly for its Dota 2 and CS:GO broadcast productions — has acquired the exclusive broadcasting rights for Russia and CIS, including Ukraine and Georgia, to the companies’ joint Counter-Strike: Global Offensive (CS:GO) tournament circuit, ESL Pro Tour, as well as DreamHack’s DreamLeague and ESL’s Dota tournament circuit.
“This multi-year agreement with Maincast is another testament to the attractiveness of DreamHack and ESL’s esports products such as the ESL Pro Tour,” said DreamHack Co-CEO Marcus Lindmark and ESL Chief Commercial Officer Thomas Schmidt in a joint statement. “Maincast will not only play an important role in delivering DreamHack and ESL content to our existing fans in Russia and CIS over the next three years, but also in attracting new viewers and fans to our premier CS:GO and Dota 2 tournaments as the esports audience continue to grow.”
The agreement is a three-year deal starting in 2020, and expiring February 2023, making the included tournament circuits available to a broad audience all over Russia & CIS.
Maincast has covered numerous events in Dota 2, CS:GO, and other games and surpassed over 1 million followers on social media. The company has generated over 40 million hours watched on Twitch and 40 million on YouTube in 2019 alone, with their 2019 Dota 2 The International qualifiers stream being the most-watched, not just among Russian-speaking viewers, but globally.
“On behalf of Maincast team, I’m happy to announce our partnership with MTG, ESL and Dreamhack,” said Andrii Grygoriev, CEO and co-founder of Maincast. “We will provide Russian-speaking coverage of ESL Pro Tour — one of the biggest event series in competitive gaming, which comprises ESL One, Intel® Extreme Masters, Dreamhack Masters, ESL Pro League, Dreamhack Open, Dreamleague and other tournament brands.”
He continued: “ESL and Dreamhack have been the A-list names in this industry for over 20 years and always deliver top-tier products, constantly raising the standards in terms of production. We will do our best to build a secure and long-lasting partnership. Our main goal is to bring the top-level esports content of ESL Pro Tour events to our region, providing the best experience for our viewers.”
Maincast’s first broadcast as part of this agreement will be during DreamHack Leipzig, January 24-26, 2020, as they will cover both DreamHack Open and DreamLeague Season 13 — The Leipzig Major.
The details of the agreement, such as the pricing of media rights, are confidential information and will not be disclosed by either of the parties.
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ABOUT DREAMHACK
DreamHack is all about entertainment for the digital generation. Founded in 1994 as a BYOC LAN party, DreamHack grew over 20 years to a global phenomenon as the digital festival for today’s youth, hosted throughout Europe and North America. DreamHack festivals feature multiple esports competitions, live music, exhibitions, creative competitions, LAN party, cosplay and much more. DreamHack helped pioneer esports and continues to be one of the largest global producers of esports content. Millions of viewers tune in from all over the world to watch DreamHack broadcasts every year. DreamHack events welcomed over 310,000 visitors in 2018.
More information is available at dreamhack.com. DreamHack is part of leading international digital entertainment group MTG. More information at dreamhack.com.
ABOUT MAINCAST
Maincast was founded in June 2018 by Vitalii ‘v1lat’ Volochai and Andrii Grygoriev, one of the most high-profile personalities in CIS esports. With its core team having over 10 years of industry experience, Maincast has quickly established itself as one of the biggest esports broadcast and content production companies in Europe.
ABOUT ESL
ESL is the world’s largest esports company. Founded in 2000, ESL has been shaping the industry across the most popular video games with numerous online and offline competitions. It operates high profile, branded international leagues and tournaments such as ESL One, Intel® Extreme Masters, ESL Pro League and other top tier stadium-size events, as well as ESL National Championships, grassroots amateur cups and matchmaking systems, defining the path from zero to hero as short as possible. With offices all over the world, ESL is leading esports forward on a global scale. ESL is a part of MTG, the leading international digital entertainment group. eslfaceitgroup.com.
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DreamHack media contacts:
Per Sjölin, DreamHack
+46 730 25 31 99 | per.sjolin@dreamhack.com
Melissa A.E. Sanders, Tadpole Communications
+1.404.909.6726 | melissa@tadpolecomm.net
ESL Gaming GmbH media contacts:
Lisa Schwarz, PR Manager ESL
+49 151 72509575 | l.schwarz@eslgaming.com
Isabel Krause, PR Manager ESL
+49 172 31 76 537 | i.krause@eslgaming.com
Maincast media contact:
Valeriia Voronova, Media Director
+38 093 49 12 821 I v.voronova@maincast.com