In a move to introduce alternative content into its cinemas, Ster-Kinekor Theatres has partnered with Telkom to live-stream the semi-finals and grand final of the highest-ranking eSports tournament in Africa.
The live Telkom-sponsored Digital Gaming League (DGL) Dota 2 Masters Tournaments will be played out at Ster-Kinekor’s preview theatre at its head office in Sandton from 22 to 24 July. The semi-finals and final on Sunday afternoon will be broadcast live to a Ster-Kinekor cinema at Cavendish in Cape Town, to cater for the Cape Town clans.
Eight Masters Multi-Gaming Organisations (MGOs) will battle it out for prize money totaling R100 000, with the action kicking off on Friday afternoon, 22 July. Play continues on Saturday, 23 July, with the semi-finals and grand final taking place from 14:00 on Sunday 24 July. The final day’s action will be streamed live to Ster-Kinekor Cavendish from 14:00 – 18:00, enabling eSports fans and gamers to experience all the action live on the big screen with full-on surround sound.
Bookings are now open for the clans to book their tickets to support their favourite team, who come head to head for the first prize of R40 000.
“Ster-Kinekor is always on the lookout for alternative content that attracts a different audience to enjoy a big-screen cinema experience. An event such as the Telkom DGL Dota 2 Masters Tournament definitely delivers on this business objective, and we are excited to be introducing eSports and live digital gaming to the big screen. Using this event to benchmark our approach to live streaming, we hope its success will pave the way for other such screenings going forward,” states Motheo Matsau, Chief Marketing and Sales Officer of Ster-Kinekor Theatres.
“eSports is one of the fastest growing sports that many people have probably never heard of! By partnering with Telkom for this weekend’s gaming event, we are hoping to make it more accessible to a greater number of eSports fans and gamers, and to broaden its reach to new audiences.”
Enzo Scarcella, Telkom’s chief marketing officer, says: “In January we launched the DGL with the largest ever eSports prize pool in South African history. In March we held the first Masters tournament in Cape Town and now we are continuing the gaming momentum with an entirely new event. We are used to seeing eSports tournaments at conventions or in shopping malls. We are now opening the doors to a whole new audience by using Ster-Kinekor’s state of the art cinemas. It’s a natural fit for Telkom when we talk technology, streaming and eSports.”
The live event for the Telkom DGL Dota 2 Masters Tournament taking place at Ster-Kinekor head office is by invitation only for the clans and VIP guests, with stage host Gareth Woods, casters Devin ‘Hellbird’ Riggotti and Shaun ‘Profeci’ Murell, and desk host Richard ‘DeMoNiK’ Sjoberg.
“However,” comments Matsau, “it is the community of passionate and involved fans that makes the game special. With this in mind, we are hoping that the live cinema event on Sunday afternoon at Cavendish will be a sell-out.”
