Yahoo Launches New Experience Dedicated to Esports

Yahoo! Inc. (NASDAQ:YHOO) today announced the launch of Yahoo Esports – a new premier destination for delivering professional esports coverage across major games and events, coupled with a comprehensive product experience. Yahoo Esports is part of Yahoo's continued investment to provide the best sports content and experiences on Yahoo Sports. The esports industry is growing at a tremendous rate, with a global audience reach of over 226M in 2015*.

This Smart News Release features multimedia. View the full release here: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20160301007090/en/

Yahoo Esports will have an emphasis on unique video content experiences covering live tournaments while going inside the action to focus on the players and competition with expert commentary, marquee interviews and in-depth features – in addition Yahoo Esports will maintain industry wide calendars, stats and player rankings. To cover the most exciting moments and competition in esports, Yahoo hired some of the best editorial and video talent in the industry. Andrea Rene will host experts Travis Gafford and Taylor Cocke in weekly “League of Legends” coverage and break down “Heroes of the Storm” and “Counter-Strike: Global Offensive” with Dylan Walker. Yahoo Esports will also cover other major titles including “Dota 2” and “Hearthstone.”

“We’re approaching our coverage of esports with the same tenacity and professionalism we always have with Yahoo Sports, News and Finance,” said Bob Condor, Vice President of Yahoo Sports Media. “Coupled with our experience in building great products, we’ve gone out and assembled an experienced and innovative content team that will cover esports from every angle.”

Yahoo Esports will be a comprehensive guide, combining editorial and video commentary, match pages, team rosters, stats, related schedules and scores. The site will also have a live chat feature where fans can connect with the community and cheer for their favorite teams. At launch, Yahoo Esports will focus its coverage around “League of Legends,” “Dota 2,” “Counter-Strike: Global Offensive,” “Heroes of the Storm,” and “Street Fighter V” with additional titles being added over time.

“Today, esports fans jump from place to place to understand what’s happening across professional gaming,” said Matt Edelman, Product Manager, Yahoo Esports. “We’re launching a comprehensive destination for esports fans everywhere, focused on delivering professional analysis, video content, live matches, team rosters, schedules, chat and more. And because esports is 24/7, we’ll hide all spoilers by default so fans can enjoy matches on their time."

Meet the Team:

Andrea Rene

Andrea joins the Yahoo Esports video team as a veteran video games reporter and will host our esports experts covering weekly tournaments and unique stories. She can also be seen as the host of GameStop TV and the gaming news show “GND Weekly” for Gamer Next Door. Andrea has covered games for GameTrailers, The Escapist, and more, by conducting hundreds of developer interviews and reporting from major conventions like CES, Comic-Con, PAX, and E3. You can follow her @Andrearene

Travis Gafford

Travis will be leading the team in “League of Legends” video coverage. Prior to joining the Yahoo Esports team, Travis worked at CBSinteractive, creating esports content for onGamers and GameSpot. Travis's first step into esports began in 2011, when he launched podcast “State of the League.” You can follow him at @SotLTravis

Taylor Cocke

In addition to his coverage of “League of Legends” with Travis, Taylor will cover “Dota 2” and “Hearthstone.” He has more than five years of writing experience, having worked previously for IGN, Kotaku, Red Bull esports and many others. He was featured on IGN’s “Esports Weekly” doing on-camera interviews and panels. You can follow him @taylorcocke

Dylan Walker

Dylan is a Kansas City transplant now living in San Jose. He will break down “Heroes of the Storm” and “Counter-Strike: Global Offensive” with host Andrea Rene. His history in competitive gaming started at LunatiK esports, an amateur CS:GO team in North America, where he worked behind the scenes as a team manager and content creator. He transitioned to reporting for Team Liquid's CS:GO and “Heroes of the Storm” teams providing analysis on their performance when needed. Most recently he filled the live-in role of team manager/mom for COGnitive Gaming's “Heroes of the Storm” team. You can follow him @Dyluuxx

*According to Newzoo’s 2016 Global Esports Market Report

About Yahoo

Yahoo is a guide focused on informing, connecting, and entertaining our users. By creating highly personalized experiences for our users, we keep people connected to what matters most to them, across devices and around the world. In turn, we create value for advertisers by connecting them with the audiences that build their businesses. Yahoo is headquartered in Sunnyvale, California, and has offices located throughout the Americas, Asia Pacific (APAC) and the Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA) regions. For more information, visit the pressroom (pressroom.yahoo.net) or the Company's blog (yahoo.tumblr.com).

View source version on businesswire.com: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20160301007090/en/