BBC Three Documentary series Fight For First: EXCEL ESPORTS became available to stream on BBC iPlayer. The five-part series will also be shown weekly on BBC One, starting from 11.35pm on Wednesday 13 January.
At a time when the global audience for esports is set to eclipse the viewership of traditional spectator sporting events and 80 million people a month play League of Legends, this documentary series from BBC Three was commissioned to give viewers an unprecedented insight into one of the biggest games in the world.
Narrated by Golden Globe and BAFTA nominee Cillian Murphy, the five-part series follows EXCEL ESPORTS, a multimillion-pound esports organisation, at home in their state-of-the-art training facility at Twickenham stadium and abroad at The League of Legends European Championships (LEC) in Berlin, meeting the six-figure salary gamers who are at the heart of this team of rising young superstars.
Fight For First: EXCEL ESPORTS is a 5×30 production made by the BBC Three in-house team. It was commissioned by Fiona Campbell, Controller BBC Three, produced and directed by Simon Rawles. The Executive Producers are James Corbin and Jo Smith for BBC Three.
Cillian Murphy says:
“My sons love gaming. When I showed them the trailer for this, they said I had to do it. Being involved in Fight For First has been a great experience and there is so much more to professional gaming than I ever thought. It has opened up a whole new world to me and this series provides a proper insight into a fascinating, global industry.”
Kieran Holmes-Darby, Co-Founder and Chief Gaming Officer at EXCEL ESPORTS, said:
“This five-part series showcases our attempts to reach the League of Legends European Championship play-offs for the first time in our history and is a completely unique insight into EXCEL ESPORTS and what goes on behind the scenes of a major esports organisation. At EXCEL, whilst competing at the elite level, we pride ourselves on always striving to be better, and the series demonstrates how we practise, prepare and play. Not only will it offer our fans a deeper look into what we do, but it will also offer people who are completely new to esports a fascinating perspective of our exciting industry.”
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