ESL is bringing live esports to more than 1,500 theaters around the world

ESL wants you to enjoy the live esports experience—from a comfy chair and with 7.1 Dolby Surround Sound.

The international esports juggernaut will bring five live esports events to over 1,500 movie theaters globally thanks to a partnership with live-cinema specialists BY Experience, the company announced earlier today. The “Esports in Cinema” series will hit theaters sometime in July, but the scheduled entertainment is set to include much more than just a blown-up Twitch stream.

The series will include Dota 2 and Counter-Strike: Global Offensive action from ESL One Cologne 2015 on Aug. 22 and 23, with four other events to be announced at a later date.

Before the live events, however, ESL will debut a new esports documentary from Christine O’Malley and Patrick Creadon. 

Neither O’Malley nor Creadon is a small fish in the documentary world. O’Malley has producer credits on such works as The Smartest Men in the Room and Superheroes, while Creadon’s work as a cinematographer appeared in Wordplay and Square Roots: The Story of SpongeBob SquarePants.

If esports fans are concerned about the scope of the event, they should know they are in good hands. BY Experience has provided cinema broadcasts of the Metropolitan Opera and music acts including David Bowie. With live coverage of Counter-Strike: Global Offensive reaching 1 million viewers this past weekend, the only question that remains is whether participating theaters will have enough popcorn.

Photo via  Thomas van de Weerd/Flickr (CC BY 2.0) | Remix by Max Fleishman