Next week the Intel Extreme Masters (IEM) World Championship will be held in Katowice, Poland featuring Counter-Strike: Global Offensive, StarCraft II and League of Legends. For the event ESL and SLIVER.tv are collaborating to launch a virtual esports stadium experience for fans worldwide.
With IEM Katowice 2017 expected to surpass last year’s 113,000 attendees in the Spodek Katowice stadium, many more fans will be able to watch the matches through live streams and via virtual reality (VR) head-mounted displays (HMDs). SLIVER.tv’s live interactive stadium is set to feature dynamic lighting that is synchronized and changes as the game is played, with viewers able see their avatars in the 360° VR stadium, interact with other live viewers through emoji’s, view each other’s gamer profile and access live stats, replays and scores in real-time.
Ulrich Schulze, Vice President Pro Gaming at ESL, said in a statement: “The IEM World Championship is one of ESL’s most prestigious events and is coming back bigger than ever in 2017 with competitions taking place over two weekends for the first time. We always aim to echo the passion and energy of our fans in the stadium with our online viewing experiences and are excited to extend the feeling of being in the crowd to the IEM VR livestreams.”
“We’ve had an amazing product development partnership with ESL thus far and are thrilled to bring to market the first virtual stadium experience in 360° VR,” said Mitch Liu, co-founder and CEO of SLIVER.tv. “We’re excited to take this first step towards making esports spectating into a highly social, live, and engaging experience to CS:GO and LoL fans worldwide. This is an integral part of our mission to transform the interactive esports entertainment industry.”
To watch the proceedings in VR and 360-degrees, visit the SLIVER.tv website or download the SLIVER.tv Android and iOS apps and use Google Cardboard. The SLIVER.tv app can also be downloaded for Samsung GearVR, Oculus Rift and HTC Vive.
The Intel Extreme Masters (IEM) World Championship 2017 will take place from 25th – 26th February and 3rd – 5th March. For any further updates on SLIVER.tv, keep reading VRFocus.