The CS2 Major Copenhagen, organised by tournament operator PGL, has become one of the first major esports events to have an official broadcast on streaming platform Kick.
It was quickly revealed shortly after PGL’s social media announcement that it will not be an exclusive deal, with Counter-Strike 2’s first-ever Major still being broadcast on Youtube and Twitch.
Founded in 2022, Kick has slowly grown to become a competitor to streaming platforms like Twitch and YouTube Gaming, albeit the former still being the biggest in the market by some margin. This is largely due to Kick signing high-profile streamers to lucrative contracts such as xQc, Amouranth and Adin Ross. The platform’s move into esports, however, has only been more recent.
Earlier this year, Kick secured a partnership with Singaporean esports organisation Bleed Esports. The deal sees Kick’s branding be featured across BLEED’s esports jerseys and throughout the organisation’s social media platform.
Whilst significant Counter-Strike 2 tournaments have already taken place in 2023 and 2024, the Copenhagen, Denmark event is the first Major since the game’s launch.
Alongside PGL announcing its integration into Kick, it was also recently revealed that the event will also have no ad breaks during halftime. Moreover, the tournament organiser has secured partnerships with bookmaker 1xBet and monitor brand ZOWIE.
Given that the event will still be available on Twitch and YouTube, it remains to be seen how PGL’s Kick broadcast will perform. The CS2 Major Copenhagen is set to commence on 17th March with 24 teams competing for its $1.25m (~£1m) prize pool.
PGL creating an official Kick channel is not the only major esports-related streaming story to occur in 2024. Earlier this month, esports conglomerate ESL FACEIT Group launched a new esports-focused streaming platform called FACEIT Watch. In partnership with streaming technology company Znipe Esports, FACEIT Watch allows viewers to stream select esports matches through the FACEIT platform.
BLAST also launched a mobile app for its own custom viewing platform, BLAST.tv.
