The FACEIT London Major is currently deciding which teams will reach the final stage of the competition, which will now be broadcast live on Sky Sports.
This partnership marks the first time Sky Sports will broadcast Counter-Strike: Global Offensive esports, providing coverage over September 20th-23rd.
The deal includes an exclusive one-hour documentary focusing on the road to the Major, a highlights programme, and a live broadcast of the finals on Sky Sports’ digital channels.
Michele Attisani, CBO & Co-Founder of FACEIT discussed the deal in a statement: “Bringing the FACEIT London Major to an entirely new audience is extremely exciting for us. We have been working closely with the team at Sky to ensure all of their content is both accessible and entertaining. It’s essential we strike that balance between offering enough CS:GO information to ensure viewers understand what’s going on, whilst maintaining the entertainment value that keeps fans absorbed.”
The FACEIT London Major is sponsored by HyperX, Betway, DreamTeam, SteelSeries, DXRacer, Epics.gg, and Zowie. The event boasts a $1,000,000 (£766,190) prize pool and major bragging rights.
Georgie Faulkner, Head of Multi Sports at Sky Sports also commented on the partnership: “FACEIT Major is one of the world’s biggest esports events, and we’re delighted to be able to bring the London finals to a whole new audience. We’re no stranger to world of esports, but this is the first time we have broadcast competitive CS:GO and we can’t wait to get started. With a sold-out SEE Wembley Arena, and some of the biggest names in the game, we’re sure our viewers will love it.”
There are other viewing alternatives, of course: Twitch, YouTube, and through GOTV in the CS:GO client.
Esports Insider says: This is a great move for exposure of the tournament. Helping the viewership of the Major will benefit the esport as a whole, but it’ll also help to prove that London is a good city to host tournaments of this scale. Original programming shows that real thought has gone into this partnership too, which is also nice.