STOCKHOLM, Tuesday January 7th 03.00pm CET, 2020 — Modern Times Group MTG AB (MTG) portfolio company’s ESL and DreamHack are today announcing a three-year-long strategic agreement with Blizzard Entertainment. The world’s largest esports company (ESL) and the premier gaming lifestyle festival organizer (DreamHack) will create new ESL Pro Tour formats for both StarCraft® II and Warcraft® III: Reforged™, with Blizzard providing a respective prize pool of over US $1.8 million and over US $200,000 for the first season.

After the successful introduction of ESL Pro Tour for CS:GO in September 2019, ESL and DreamHack are proud to announce the second and third games to be incorporated into the global circuit created for players, fans and partners.

The ESL Pro Tour competition aims to create a complete path for aspiring players, a compelling story to follow for existing Real-Time-Strategy game fans, a transparent structure for new esports fans, and viable, high-exposure opportunities for brands and media partners.

The communities of Blizzard Entertainment’s RTS games have been going strong for the past 20+ years. Over that time, they have nurtured rivalries, created stars and cemented StarCraft and Warcraft as two of the top global esports.

Taking over from the StarCraft II World Championship Series, the new ESL Pro Tour StarCraft II will feature tournaments on a minimum of four different continents with the global finals moving from BlizzCon^® to Intel^® Extreme Masters Katowice. Additionally, ESL and DreamHack are building a new competitive platform for Warcraft III: Reforged by introducing the new ESL Pro Tour Warcraft III: Reforged.

For details about the announced cooperation, visit the respective press rooms of Blizzard Entertainment, ESL and DreamHack.

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For more information:

Lars Torstensson, MTG EVP Communications & Investor Relations
Direct: +46 (0)702-734 879, lars.torstensson (at) mtg.com
Oliver Carrà, MTG – Public Relations Director
Direct: +46 708 666 433, oliver.carra (at) mtg.com

Reach us:  communications@mtg.com
Hi-resolution press images for media: Flickr
Follow us:  mtg.com / Twitter / LinkedIn

Mark Van Lommel
Activision Blizzard Esports – Senior PR Manager
949-955-1380 x61147
MVanLommel@blizzard.com

Eric Elliott
Activision Blizzard Esports – PR Coordinator
949-955-1380 x64722
ESElliott@blizzard.com

Lisa Schwarz / Isabel Krause
ESL Gaming – Global Communications
+49 151 72509575 / +49 172 3176537
l.schwarz@eslgaming.com / i.krause@eslgaming.com

Per Sjölin
DreamHack – Press and PR Manager
+46 730 25 31 99
per.sjolin@dreamhack.com

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About MTG AB  

MTG (Modern Times Group MTG AB (publ.)) (www.mtg.com) is a strategic and operational investment holding company in esports and gaming entertainment. Born in Sweden, the shares are listed on Nasdaq Stockholm (‘MTGA’ and ‘MTGB’).

About Blizzard Entertainment, Inc.

Best known for blockbuster hits including World of Warcraft®, Hearthstone®, Overwatch®, Warcraft®, StarCraft®, and Diablo® franchises, and the multifranchise Heroes of the Storm®, Blizzard Entertainment, Inc. (www.blizzard.com), a division of Activision Blizzard (NASDAQ: ATVI), is a premier developer and publisher of entertainment software renowned for creating some of the industry’s most critically acclaimed games. Blizzard Entertainment’s track record includes twenty-two #1 games* and numerous Game of the Year awards. The company's online gaming service, Battle.net^®, is one of the largest in the world, with millions of active players.

About Activision Blizzard Esports

Activision Blizzard Esports (ABE) is responsible for the development, operation, and commercialization of Activision Blizzard’s professional gaming properties including the Overwatch League™, the Call of Duty^® League™, Call of Duty Challengers™, Hearthstone^® Masters, StarCraft^® II esports, Warcraft^® III: Reforged™, and the World of Warcraft^® Arena World Championship and Mythic Dungeon International, among others. ABE also operates Tespa, the leader in collegiate esports. It is ABE’s vision to be the most innovative, scalable, and valuable developer of global competitive entertainment.

About ESL
ESL is the world’s largest esports company. Founded in 2000, ESL has been shaping the industry across the most popular video games with numerous online and offline esports competitions. The company operates high profile, branded international leagues and tournaments under the ESL Pro Tour including ESL One, Intel® Extreme Masters, ESL Pro League, and other premier stadium-size tournaments, to more clearly define the path from zero to hero. ESL also produces the ESL National Championships, grassroots amateur cups, and matchmaking systems, creating a world where everybody can be somebody. With offices all over the world, ESL is leading esports innovation on a global scale through the combination of global ESL competitions, amateur leagues, publisher activations, and more. ESL is a part of MTG, the leading international digital entertainment group. about.eslgaming.com

About DreamHack
DreamHack is all about entertainment for the digital generation. Founded in 1994 as a BYOC LAN party, DreamHack grew over 20 years to a global phenomenon as the digital festival for today’s youth, hosted throughout Europe and North America. DreamHack festivals feature multiple esports competitions, live music, exhibitions, creative competitions, LAN party, cosplay and much more. DreamHack helped pioneer esports and continues to be one of the largest global producers of esports content. Millions of viewers tune in from all over the world to watch DreamHack broadcasts every year. DreamHack events welcomed over 310,000 visitors in 2018. More information is available at dreamhack.com. DreamHack is part of leading international digital entertainment group MTG. More information at mtg.com.

*Sales and/or downloads. Based on internal company records and reports from key distributors.

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