This week in esports: BBC, BLAST, NBA 2K League, Sportradar

As always, we’ve rounded up the biggest and best stories from the past week so you can stay abreast of the industry’s biggest happenings. This week in esports saw BBC and ESPN pick up esports programming, BLAST expand into Dota 2, and Sportradar partner with Activision Blizzard.

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BBC Sport to broadcast Rocket League European Spring Series

Psyonix announces Rocket League Spring Series
Image credit: Psyonix

BBC Sport will broadcast the Rocket League European Spring Series across its website, application, and BBC iPlayer.

On May 9th, eight best-of-five matches will be broadcast with two teams being eliminated. On the following day, the playoffs will be concluded, including the best-of-seven final series.

Read the full article here.

BLAST dives into Dota 2 with Bounty Hunt tournament

Blast Bounty Hunt key art with Dota 2 icon
Image source: BLAST

Tournament organiser BLAST announced its first venture into Dota 2 with Bounty Hunt – an online tournament with a $145,000 (£116,049) dynamic prize pool for players and a $5,000 (£4,001) cash prize for audience participants.

BLAST Bounty Hunt will be held from June 9-13th and broadcast over BLAST’s newly created Dota 2 Twitch and YouTube channels. Pro teams from across the world will compete in over 32 hours of competitive gameplay over five consecutive days, playing best-of-threes until the Championship best-of-five.

Read the full article here.

NBA 2K League matches to air on ESPN, Sportsnet platforms

NBA 2K League ESPN
Photo credit: NBA 2K League

Television network ESPN and the NBA 2K League announced that league games will be broadcast on the ESPN2 network and other ESPN platforms throughout the 2020 season.

Tuesday night games will be broadcast on ESPN2 starting tonight and through May 19th, with further telecast details still to be announced for dates thereafter.

Read the full article here.

Sportradar tapped for Activision Blizzard’s franchised leagues

Sportradar Activision Blizzard Overwatch Call of Duty League
Image credit: Activision Blizzard

Activision Blizzard partnered with Sportradar to protect the integrity of its Call of Duty League and Overwatch League.

Sportradar will monitor the global betting activity of both leagues, reporting any potential breaches in an attempt to maintain integrity. It will also provide access to its specialised “intelligence and investigation services unit” and look to educate players on the risks and rules on betting.

Read the full article here.

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