Cooperation between ESL and Twitch extends back to the year of the streaming platform’s inception in 2011. Since then, the two have continually worked at broadcasting the best in eSports, breaking record upon record along the way.

It probably comes as no surprise, then, that the companies have entered into an extended multi-year partnership agreement. As exclusive streaming partner for ESL One Frankfurt 2014 (held in 2006 Football World Cup stadium: Commerzbank-Arena) and tagging along for the ninth season of the Intel Extreme Masters, Twitch will accompany ESL throughout 2014 and for many years to come.

With ESL’s expansion into North America to host the region’s Wargaming.net League for World of Tanks and the StarCraft II World Championship Series among other major eSports competitions, the partnership is set to see immense growth this year.

“ESL has created a premium eSports product at worldwide scale and are a top example of the premium gaming content available on Twitch," said Stuart Saw, regional director of EMEA, Twitch. “They have a passion for games and have built a great community. And when you look at their record-setting numbers and international reach, they are clearly one of the key players in the eSports industry.”

Ralf Reichert, CEO of ESL, is excited to see the impact of recent company expansions on global streaming numbers. In 2013 alone, the total hours of content streamed by ESL through Twitch exceeded 11,000 - that equals around 32 hours a day on average! For more statistics, check out the infographic below.

“We are a pioneer within the industry by creating the most epic and magical moments possible,” said Ralf Reichert. “A big part of this is communicating and sharing an event’s atmosphere in high definition to thousands of eSports fans at home unable to attend. This wouldn’t be possible without Twitch and the power of its platform.”

As ESL looks forward to the upcoming year with Twitch, what is it you’re most looking forward to?