CS:GO tournament organizer BLAST Premier has renewed and expanded its media right deals with Douyu, a Chinese livestreaming service.
With this deal, Douyu will retain the broadcast rights for the remainder of the BLAST Premier circuit in 2021 and will broadcast the first qualifier event to be held in China. This new competition will see BLAST incorporate Chinese CS:GO teams into its ecosystem for the first time.
Additionally, Douyu’s deal has been extended to include coverage on fellow streaming platforms Huya and Bilibili.
“We are excited to extend our rights deal with Douyu into its second year, and delighted to expand the partnership with new additions,” BLAST Premier’s vice president of distribution and programming Alexander Lewin said in a statement to Dot Esports. “Working closely with Douyu, we’ll be teaming up to put on the first-ever BLAST Premier event in China by giving one of the CS:GO teams in the region a chance at competing in October’s Fall Showdown via our Fall qualifiers.”
BLAST Premier recently expanded into new regions for the fall qualifiers, which is a way to qualify for the BLAST Premier Fall Showdown in October, earn a $25,000 participation fee, and play against some of the best CS:GO teams in the world. Aside from China, BLAST will organize qualifiers in the following regions: Nordics, South America, Western Europe, Eastern Europe, Iberia, North America, and the Middle East.
“This unique addition adds another dimension to the deal and creates opportunities for local teams in China to compete on a global scale,” Lewin said. “Douyu is the perfect home of BLAST Premier in China and adds to our ever growing portfolio of leading broadcasters around the world.”
A date for the Chinese fall qualifier that will be organized with the help of Douyu should be announced in the coming weeks.
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