BANDAI NAMCO has announced an exclusive broadcast partnership deal with Twitch for the Dragon Ball FighterZ World Tour.

Twitch will serve as managing partner for “league operations, circuit events, and content on a global scale.”

The circuit will feature a $60K prizepool distributed among eight events throughout 2018 and early 2019.

Developer BANDAI NAMCO has released schedule and format details for the upcoming Dragon Ball FighterZ World Tour. The company also announced a partnership with Twitch as the exclusive broadcast partner for the duration of the circuit.

[perfectpullquote align=”right” cite=”” link=”” color=”” class=”” size=””]Twitch will serve as managing partner for “league operations, circuit events, and content on a global scale.”[/perfectpullquote]

Twitch will serve as managing partner for “league operations, circuit events, and content on a global scale,” according to the announcement. This follows on from an ongoing partnership BANDAI NAMCO has with Twitch for the TEKKEN World Tour.

Vice president of marketing at BANDAI NAMCO Entertainment America said:

“Dragon Ball FighterZ is a massive international success and fans around the world have been clamoring for an official tournament series built around the game. With the Dragon Ball FighterZWorld Tour, BANDAI NAMCO Entertainment and Twitch are doubling down to create an epic worldwide tournament series of Super Saiyan God Super Saiyan proportions. We can’t wait to see the epic battles that will surely emerge from our highly skilled DRAGON BALL FighterZ global player pool.”

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The Dragon Ball FighterZ World Tour is a tournament circuit themed around the seven mystical Dragon Balls that drive the franchise’s storyline. Seven fighting game tournaments throughout the world have been selected as “Saga Events.” The winner of the Dragon Ball FighterZ event at each Saga Event will receive one of the seven Dragon Balls, and an automatic qualification for a finals event in January 2019. Before the finals, BANDAI NAMCO will host an open Last Chance Qualifier to determine the last player for an eight-person final bracket.

The World Tour format is similar to most other fighting game circuits such as the Capcom Pro Tour, but with one unique difference. If one player wins all seven Saga Events and claims the seven Dragon Balls, that player automatically moves on to the Grand Finals of the World Tour finals event. They will then play a first-to-ten set against the winner of the Last Chance Qualifier for the championship, circumventing the entire World Tour finals tournament.

[perfectpullquote align=”left” cite=”” link=”” color=”” class=”” size=””]Dragon Ball FighterZ sold 1.5M digital console units in the first month of its release.[/perfectpullquote]

BANDAI NAMCO will provide a $60K prizepool for the World Tour. Each Saga Event will receive a $5K bonus to its prizepool and the remaining $25K will be awarded at the finals event.

The Dragon Ball FighterZ World Tour kicks off at the end of June at the CEO Fighting Game Championships. Other Saga Events have been confirmed later this year in France, Singapore, Mexico, and the U.K.

Since its launch in January, Dragon Ball FighterZ has soared to the top of the fighting game scene. It sold 1.5M digital console units in the first month, and as of June 1 was projected to be the largest event at Evo this year. The game is also scheduled for release on the Nintendo Switch in September, which could add to the potential viewership of the World Tour. Leveraging the power of a massively popular franchise, the Dragon Ball FighterZ World Tour could be the missing piece that finally elevates fighting games into the highest tier of esports.