ESL Gaming and Elisa Enter Media Rights Partnership for ESL Pro Tour CS:GO in Finland

Collaboration marks the continuation of Elisa’s dedication to the Finnish esports community

Cologne/New York ESL Gaming, the world’s leading esports company, and Elisa, a Finnish market leader in telecommunications and digital services, today announced a new partnership, making Elisa Esports the exclusive media rights holder of the ESL Pro Tour for Counter-Strike: Global Offensive (CS:GO) in the Finnish language.

As part of the agreement, Elisa Esports has obtained the rights to distribute, promote, and broadcast content of the ESL Pro Tour via its linear and digital channels, including its Twitch channel, exclusively in Finnish. By obtaining the rights for the complete ESL Pro Tour CS:GO, Elisa Esports expands its strong roots in the esports scene.

“This partnership is not only a testament to the impact, value, and attraction of the ESL Pro Tour, but also to Elisa’s dedication to the esports community,” said Frank Uddo, Senior Vice President Global Media at ESL Gaming. “Their commitment means that the Finnish fans get to enjoy the best CS:GO competitions available in their own language which in itself will help develop their local community.”

“The partnership with ESL provides Elisa the ESL Pro Tour, which is the most valuable and viewed content in Finland strengthening our market-leading position,” said Teemu Koski, Head of Elisa Esports. “This is a new and exciting opportunity for Elisa to extend our media business locally here in Finland and partner with the leading global CS:GO product in the world.” 

Earlier this month, Elisa announced the arena event Elisa Masters Espoo ‘22, of which the winner will be invited to compete in the Play-In Stage of Intel® Extreme Masters (IEM) Katowice 2023. More information about the Official ESL Pro Tour Affiliate Event for CS:GO can be found here.

Next up in the ESL Pro Tour is ESL Challenger Valencia, taking place live at DreamHack Valencia in Valencia, Spain, on July 1-3. This will be followed by The Cathedral of Counter-Strike, IEM Cologne 2022, taking place in Cologne, Germany, on July 5-17. The final weekend of this tournament will be played out in front of a live audience as the top six teams will enter the stage of the LANXESS Arena on July 15-17. Finnish-speaking fans can tune in on Elisa’s channels, including its Twitch channel, to watch world-class CS:GO action and cheer on their favorite teams.

Visit the official website for more information and the latest updates about ESL Pro Tour for CS:GO. For more general information please visit about.eslgaming.com or follow ESL Gaming on LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.

***

About ESL Gaming

ESL Gaming is the world’s leading esports company. For more than two decades, we have been shaping the industry and leading esports and gaming innovation globally across the most popular video games, creating a comprehensive ecosystem with opportunities for players to go from zero to hero, and for fans to witness the best stories esports has to offer. Our portfolio consists of high-profile products such as the ESL Pro Tour, Intel® Extreme Masters, DreamHack Festivals, the Snapdragon® Pro Series, and many more, ranging from grassroots to global elite competitions. ESL Gaming is a part of the world’s leading competitive gaming platform ESL FACEIT Group.

About ESL Pro Tour 

The ESL Pro Tour combines multiple ESL tournaments from various game titles, including Counter-Strike: Global Offensive and StarCraft® II into dedicated circuits that build toward grand championships each year. The overarching structure for both global and local competitions provides aspiring players from all levels a consistent and clear path from “zero to hero”, a more compelling story to follow for existing CS:GO and StarCraft® II fans, and a more transparent structure for new esports fans. 

About Elisa

Elisa’s mission is a sustainable future through digitalisation. We are a pioneer in telecommunications and digital services, and in 5G. We provide sustainable solutions for over 2.8 million consumer, corporate and public administration customers in our core markets of Finland and Estonia, as well as in over 100 countries internationally. In Finland, Elisa is a market leader in telecommunications, and our international cooperation partners include e.g. Vodafone and Tele2. Elisa is listed on the Nasdaq Helsinki. In 2021, our revenue was EUR 2 billion and we employed 5,300 people in more than 20 countries. Elisa is a carbon-neutral company. elisa.com 

###

Contact us

EFG owns a portfolio of brands in different categories. We are leading the industry with numerous online and offline competitions, digital platforms as well as gaming lifestyle festivals.