Twitch is launching a $200,000 Tekken esports league
A six-month Tekken "World Tour" will kick off next month and will stream exclusively on Twitch.
Video game streaming is big business, but mostly for massively multiplayer online games like World of Warcraft or team-based games like Overwatch.
Now, Twitch has teamed up with Bandai Namco to give fighting games -- specifically, the upcoming Tekken 7 -- a streaming boost.
Partnering with Bandai Namco, Twitch on Thursday announced an esports league for Tekken 7. Called the "Tekken World Tour," it'll see Twitch host competitions around the globe, exclusive to the streaming platform.
The first season will kick off on June 16 -- two weeks after the game's June 2 release -- and will last for six months. During that time, $200,000 in prize money will be up for grabs.
The first tournament will take place at the CEO Fighting Game Championships in Orlando, Florida. The Tour will move to Doha, Qatar on June 30 and then Phuket, Thailand on July 1.
Fighting games, particularly Tekken and Street Fighter, are big in Japan and South Korea, but haven't attracted streaming audiences comparable to games like League of Legends. There is hope though: South Korea has its own show dedicated to Tekken esports, "Tekken Crash," which racks up hundreds of thousands of views online.
Twitch launched a similar initiative with popular PS4 game Rocket League last year, starting a three-month season with a $75,000 prize pool. That was evidently a success: Twitch's Rocket league is now in its third season, its prize pool reaching $300,000.
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