Last January, Cloud 9 was the first North American team to ever win a Counter-Strike: Global Offensive major. That win was not only a watershed moment for CS:GO as an esport, helping the game garner more than 54.1 million hours watched on Twitch during a single event, but it also cemented the ever-growing relationship between the game and esports broadcaster ELEAGUE.
Now, one year later, C9, CS:GO, and ELEAGUE are back, bringing viewers what’s sure to be another interesting, if not gripping, tournament: CS:GO Invitational 2019.
In typical ELEAGUE fashion, the stakes are high. Four teams will compete over three days for a prize pool of $150,000. Matches will begin on Friday, January 25 and run through Sunday, January 27; coverage of the tournament will begin at 2 p.m. EDT each day and will be broadcast on ELEAGUE’s Twitch channel, ELEAGUE.com, and B/R Live.
Team’s competing in the double-elimination bracket competition include:
- Cloud 9
- FaZe Clan
- BIG
- CompLexity
Aside from the sure-to-be electric competition, there will be a cast of familiar faces and voices reporting on the action from both the ELEAGUE studio floor and from behind the desk.
Alex “Goldenboy” Mendez will be hosting the Invitational, and he will be joined by casters James Bardolph, Daniel “DDK” Kapadia, Jason “Moses” O’Toole, and Sean Gares. Reporting from the floor will be veteran Sue “Smix” Lee.
As has become tradition with ELEAGUE tournaments, there will also be a TBS episodic series created to recap the tournaments most explosive moments. According to the release provided by ELEAGUE, the series will “include feature content, player interviews, and other behind the scenes access to the teams.”
For fans in the Atlanta area, there will be a limited number of free tickets available for watching the tournament live, in-studio on Saturday and Sunday. Those interested can visit ELEAGUE.com/tickets for more information.
While ELEAGUE’s first Invitational of the year isn’t as “big” as some of its tournaments from last year, such as the CS:GO Premier, there’s no doubt the broadcaster has larger, even more extensive tournaments planned for the year.
In many ways, it’s logical that ELEAGUE will only grow in 2019, considering the monumental success the brand has seen in such a short period of time in not only viewership, but also attracting the attention of influential gaming brands such as Nintendo and Activision. That’s not to mention the cache the broadcaster commands by being a branch of Turner Broadcasting.
As ELEAGUE continues to bridge the gap between gamer and the casual viewer, tournaments such as this upcoming CS:GO Invitational will only become more frequent.
You can find out more about what ELEAGUE’s up to by following them on Twitter and staying tuned to GameSkinny for more updates and coverage.
