One of the world's fastest growing spectator events is coming to New Zealand television screens for the first time in December.

A League of Legends tournament, one of the world's biggest online gaming franchises with more than 67 million players each month, will screen on SKY pop-up channel on December 19.

Around the globe eSports is one of the fastest growing spectator events, with millions of people tuning in to watch players battle on screen, particularly in South Korea, China and the United States.

Top gamers can earn million dollar contracts in Asia, and some gamers share true superstar status with traditional sporting stars in football or golf.

The MyRepublic New Zealand Gaming Championship will be New Zealand's first foray into televised gaming tournaments.

"For the uninitiated, think Lord of the Rings meets paintball at the darts," NZGC president Dan Wrightson said.

"It's fast, strategic and in your face action unlike any sports event [you've seen]. The NZ gaming community is spawning its own local superstars and the MyRepublic NZGC gives them a stage to showcase how good they are, and how incredible eSports is to watch and play."

MyRepublic will be hosting viewing parties of the finals in cities across the country, while the broadcast will feature commentators, expert panelists, how-to demonstrations and high-definition gameplay.

Five of New Zealand's top teams have been invited to compete, while an online Wild-Card tournament streaming live on December 6th gives a sixth team the chance to compete.