ELEAGUE will aim to create narratives and storytelling and not only competitions

The first major TV Esports event will have more than just matches playing in CS: GO, as the production heads are hoping they can create storytelling for new fans to cheer for their own idols that they will be getting to know through narrative.

The 10-week eSports tournament featuring the first-person shooter Counter Strike: Global Offensive is set to air on TBS on Friday. In advanced of the competitive matches, Craig Barry, the executive vice president of production and chief content officer of Turner Sports, told the International Business Times that he’s hoping the ELEAGUE will demonstrate more than just gamers playing games, but that fans connect to the personalities like they do in pro sports.

“Ultimately, these players need to be celebrated,” Berry told International Business Times. “As important as the teams and the events are, the very fabric of eSports is the individual player. So, creating narratives, making sure you’re connecting emotionally to fans.”

As IBT notes, to appeal to a broader audience, ELEAGUE will need to develop its own heroes and villains for fans to cheer along with and root against. It’s pretty much how all sports work. Having players fans can connect to is obviously huge to developing the sport. A general audience doesn’t know who the best players are, so developing storylines will be huge in growing the sport among non-traditional eSports fans.

The narratives will take form on Tuesday, May 24 when the ELEAGUE debuts on Twitch. The league makes it debut on TBS on May 27. You can take a look at the official casters and analysts through the picture below: