Mentioned in this article
- ESPN has established an EXP brand for esports competitions held at its own events.
- The company will host Apex Legends competitions at The 2019 ESPYS in Los Angeles and X Games Minneapolis.
- Both competitions will stream online and also be featured in tape-delayed highlight shows on ABC and ESPN’s linear networks.
ESPN today announced EXP, a new series of esports competitions to be held at the company’s own branded events. Electronic Arts’ 
battle royale game Apex Legends will be the focus of two tournaments this summer.
The first, the EXP Pro-Am Apex Legends Exhibition, will be held alongside The 2019 ESPYS award show in Los Angeles on July 11. The competition will include celebrities, athletes, and influencers, according to a release, and fans can also enter for a chance to play by donating to an ESPN charity drive on eBay that begins on June 12.
The second competition is the EXP Invitational – Apex Legends at X Games Minneapolis, which takes place between August 1-4 at the extreme sports festival at U.S. Bank Stadium. That competition will bring in some of the world’s top Apex Legends players, and is the only esports event at this year’s X Games.
The EXP series will also spotlight additional games in the future, and will hold events in both professional, pro-am, and collegiate formats. Both Apex Legends events will be streamed via digital platforms, including the ESPN app, with a highlight-driven feature show to air later via ESPN’s and ABC’s linear networks.
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“Leaning into esports represents ESPN’s focus on serving sports fans and expanding audiences,” said Justin Connolly, executive vice president of Disney’s and ESPN’s affiliate sales and marketing, in a release. “We remain committed to serving gaming fans across all platforms and content types, and Apex Legends is a great title to showcase EXP’s vision of offering world-class live esports events anchored by storytelling and multi-platform distribution.”
Last month’s ESPN Collegiate Esports Championship, held as part of Comicpalooza in Houston, is retroactively considered to be the first of the company’s EXP events. That event included competitions for Overwatch , Street Fighter V: Arcade Edition, StarCraft II , Hearthstone , and Heroes of the Storm .
