ESPN Will Host Two Apex Legends Tournaments This Summer

ESPN has unveiled EXP, an event series that will feature esports competitions at the network's events. Electronic Arts and ESPN have teamed up to bring Apex Legends tournaments to both the X Games Minneapolis 2019 and The 2019 ESPYS this summer. According to ESPN, competitions under EXP will feature a combination of pro-am, professional, and collegiate formats across multiple genres and games.Apex Legends is the arguably second-best battle royale game currently on the market, having achieved a huge spike in attention upon launching earlier this year. Fortnite competitions continue to dominate the battle royale genre thanks to a combination of its massive popularity and Epic's heavy esports push.

EA and Respawn's battle royale title will get its own slot in the budding esports industry, as well, thanks to ESPN's EXP competitions. The next confirmed event in the series will focus on Apex Legends — the tournament will be called the EXP Pro-Am Apex Legends Exhibition scheduled to take place during the week of July 11.

Following that, EA and ESPN will conduct the EXP Invitational – Apex Legends at X Games Minneapolis from August 1 to August 4. The sports network is offering fans the chance to play the battle royale game alongside pros, influencers, and celebrities at the 2019 ESPYS by donating to its ESPYS Sweepstakes — entries can start on June 12.

Talking about the plan is ESPN's VP of digital programming John Lasker, who said:

We are proud ESPN continues to be at the forefront of the growth and popularity of esports, collaborating with some of the top publishers in the industry including EA for our first-ever esports event series. EXP, short for experience, has been central to gaming history, and giving fans a great experience is central to our strategy at ESPN.