The BBC will be showing coverage of the Gfinity Elite Series of eSports on BBC Three online every weekend for the next six weeks. BBC 3 is an online channel only.
The news marks the first time an eSports tournament has been properly broadcast on the channel, beyond the nominal highlights that have been shown in previous years.
The tournament will see 160 gamers battle it out to win £225,000 ($296,500) playing a range of online multiplayer titles including Street Fighter V, Counter Strike: Global Offensive and Rocket League.
Coverage begins on Friday at 20:45 BST. It will be available via the BBC Three website and on iPlayer.
Analyst Comment
Coverage of eSports up until this point has been considered niche, reserved for streaming platforms like YouTube and Twitch, or dedicated gaming channels like GINX TV.
Given how eSports is going from strength to strength and tournaments are becoming more recognised as legitimate sporting events, it will be very interesting to see how the coverage fares on such a high-profile channel. (AF)
