It was revealed today that the PGL CS2 Copenhagen Major will be the first sizeable esports tournament broadcast on Kick.com. This marks a historic milestone for Kick, which has long been overshadowed in the esports space by the likes of YouTube and Twitch. While it’s not going to be an overnight transformation, it’s a testament to those willing to invest in Kick, which since its inception has been plagued by bad press and controversy.

Days ago, Kick.com revealed a partnership with Bleed Esports, which heralded the streaming platform’s first foray into esports. It’s an indicator of Kick’s intentions, but there are high expectations that it will take years for Kick to establish itself as a main player in the space. Regardless, PGL is anticipating great things from broadcasting the Copenhagen Major on Kick.com, announcing that it’ll be streamed ‘without a single ad interruption’.

Onwards and Upwards

Kick.com was once thought of as a flash in the pan – all style and no substance. The platform’s leadership team started spending the big bucks to acquire some of the biggest names in streaming, and since December 2022 and the launch of the site, it has been steadily plugging away in the background. In January 2024, there was a 17% increase in watch time recorded by streamscharts.com.

While the PGL CS2 Major Copenhagen will be streamed live on Kick.com, the organiser was quick to confirm that it’ll also be appearing on Twitch and YouTube as normal. It’s widely expected that Kick.com will receive a small portion of that viewership, but anything is better than nothing, particularly for a ‘first outing’. If it goes well for PGL, it could lead more organisers to bring their events to Kick.com, and it’s assumed that the Stake.com-backed streaming platform could easily sweeten that pot.

It’s an all-new avenue for esports viewers, but will it take off? There has been a lot of pushback from the gaming community against Kick.com following more than a year of countless controversies. Today, most of that community either ignores Kick.com, has discounted it entirely, or still maintains that air of inherent distrust towards the site.

It’s coming around, but it’s taking time.

Read also:

Is Kick.com Safe? – Should You Stream on Kick?

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