Amazon’s video game livestreaming service Twitch has renewed its partnership with the Electronic Sports League (ESL), ensuring that it will continue broadcasting live coverage of the ESL’s major esports events.

Twitch and ESL have been partners for several years now, and with Twitch’s role as the leading livestreaming platform for gamers, as well as its involvement in popularizing esports for a broader audience, it is clear why ESL would want to continue its partnership.

At the same time, major esports tournaments are Twitch’s most-watched livestreams, often with over one million concurrent viewers tuning in for championships in games like League of Legends, Dota 2, and Counter-Strike: Global Offensive.

“The Twitch community continues to embrace ESL events, with the viewership numbers setting milestones year over year,” Kevin Lin, COO of Twitch, said in a statement. “By renewing our long-running partnership with ESL, it reaffirms our commitment to both our community and this legacy brand in the esports space.”

“We are excited to continue bringing new esports content to Twitch, home to the largest live audience of esports fans.” added Ralf Reichert, CEO of ESL. “In 2016, ESL will once again deliver world’s most legendary esports moments, and we’re very happy to have Twitch on our side as the broadcasting partner.”

Twitch isn’t the only game in town

While Twitch may be one of ESL’s longest running partnerships, the esports organization is no longer putting all of its eggs in one livestreaming basket.

This week, ESL also announced partnerships with Azubu and Hitbox, both of which are heavily esports-focused Twitch alternatives.

“The most important aspect to keep in mind when creating an esports broadcast is the audience,” Nik Adams, Senior Vice President Global Sales & Business Development at ESL, explained in a statement. “Expanding our distribution channels to include Hitbox and Azubu – alongside our long-standing partner, Twitch – was done with this very audience in mind. Now viewers all across the world have greater flexibility in choosing how to consume ESL content – a first step with many more to follow.”

Of course, Twitch still dominates the industry in terms of viewers, but making its tournaments available on more platforms can do nothing but help ESL.

photo credit: IMG_0331 via photopin (license)