League of Legends developer Riot Games has forged a partnership with PG Esports to produce an Italian broadcast for the League of Legends European Championship (LEC).

Starting January 18th, the inaugural season of the LEC will be broadcast for Italian fans on PG Esports’ Twitch channel.

PG Esports is an Italian esports company that hosts and organises tournaments for multiple games, including League of Legends, PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds, and Counter-Strike: Global Offensive.

On January 16th, LEC announced a partnership with energy company Shell. The British-Dutch oil and gas giant will power the Baron Power Play segment of the broadcast, as well as offering multiple ways for viewers to win XP boosts, skins, and champions.

A few days earlier, Kia Motors entered the esports industry by partnering with the European competition. Acting as the main sponsor, it will create digital content throughout the upcoming year and will have a presence at stadium events across Europe.

Alienware became a partner of numerous League of Legends competitions, including franchised leagues LEC and LCS, on January 8th. The Mid-Season Invitational, North America vs Europe Rift Rivals, the All-Star Event, and the League of Legends World Championship were also part of the multi-year partnership.

The LEC was previously known as the EU LCS, but it rebranded as the competition implemented a franchising model much like its North American counterpart a year prior. The 10 long term partners that Riot Games accepted into the LEC are Fnatic, FC Schalke 04, G2 Esports, Misfits Gaming, Splyce, Team Vitality, Origen, EXCEL, SK Gaming, and Rogue.

Esports Insider says: We’ve noticed a definitive effort on Riot Games’ behalf to truly embrace the European aspect of the LEC. With an incentive for German fans to view their local stream and now PG Esports hosting an Italian broadcast, the league could well get off to a great start in terms of viewership.