ESL, Kick to Stream All CS2 and Dota 2 Pro Tour Events

ESL has partnered with Kick to livestream every ESL Pro Tour (EPT) match for Counter-Strike 2 and Dota 2 in English. The agreement took effect with Intel Extreme Masters Rio 2026, which began April 13. Kick is broadcasting all group-stage and playoff matches from the 16-team IEM Rio tournament, which carries a $1 million prize pool.

ESL confirmed that future Intel Extreme Masters events and other EPT competitions will also be carried live on Kick’s English channel. Live streams of EPT matches will remain available on other distribution platforms; exclusivity in the partnership is limited to the ESL Challenger League.

The ESL Challenger League features lower-tier and rising teams competing for invites to the next season of the ESL Pro League. Matches in the Challenger League will be available only on Kick under the terms of the agreement.

IEM Rio 2026 is part of the ESL Grand Slam VI race, which carries an additional $1 million prize for the Grand Slam winner. Team Vitality entered IEM Rio one win away from becoming the first team to win consecutive Grand Slam titles. After the first two matchdays, teams advancing to the IEM Rio playoffs included Team Vitality, Team Falcons, FURIA and MOUZ.

Fans can watch live English broadcasts of EPT events on Kick’s official channel. ESL has not announced further exclusivity for other tiers of the Pro Tour beyond the Challenger League.