If you’re an esports enthusiast going to Katowice, Poland to watch the Intel Extremes Masters Expo and ESL One tournaments this March 12-15 and you own a smartphone you are in for a treat. The esports gaming league ESL (Electronic Sports League) just released a mobile app for Apple and Android that will keep you up to date on the competition and also give you access to free stuff.

The esports competitions for both Intel Extreme Masters and ESL One will be held in the Spodek Arena and adjoining Exhibition Hall from March 12-15 in Katowice, Poland. This esports competition lineup will feature StarCraft II, League of Legends, Counter-Strike: Global Offensive, and Hearthstone.

The app is available now from the Official ESL Katowice App website.

The official event app is designed to engage visitors directly and act as a scheduler and brochure for the event. Furthermore, visitors running the event app will receive free item drops from Counter-Strike: Global Offensive for checking in using geo-location capability once per day.

“The ESL Katowice event app is the first in a row of mobile applications that we have planned for the company,” said John Minah, Vice President Online & Mobile at ESL. “We’re looking to ensure that event apps become a staple for major ESL competitions and aim to continually add to the functionality and versatility of the applications.”

As an ever-growing scene attracting thousands of visitors, esports competitions draw thousands of visitors and even more global viewers via livestreaming (in 2013 over 71 million people tuned in to watch various esports events.) As a result venues, esports leagues, gaming companies, hardware vendors, and others keep looking for more ways to connect with these audiences and, with the younger crowds and proliferation of smartphones, mobile apps provide a powerful platform.

Esports competitions work very similarly to every large gathering of fans, from conventions to sports events, and often involve extremely large venues. Over the years many venues taken advantage of mobile apps to act as digital brochures, maps, event schedulers, and information providers for visitors.

Even Blizzard Entertainment released an official Blizzcon app for its annual convention in 2014.

The next ESL One will take place in Cologne from August 22nd-23rd 2015 and may likely also have its own app.

Image credit: ESL Gaming Network