TheScore launches mobile app for e-sports

In addition to live hockey and football scores, sports fans can now get similar updates for professional League of Legends video game tournaments, via a new mobile sports app from theScore.

Toronto-based mobile sports media company theScore Inc. announced today that it has launched a dedicated Android app for competitive video gaming or e-sports fans called theScore eSports.

"In our view, e-sports should be treated as a fully fledged sport," said John Levy, founder and CEO of theScore in a statement announcing the new app.

The company says it's the first major sports media company to launch a dedicated mobile app for e-sports.

• Q: Are e-sports poised to be more popular than hockey?
• E-sports, competitive video games, a multimillion-dollar industry

According to New York-based video game market research firm SuperData, 71.5 million people watched e-sports around the world in 2013. Last July, the Defense of the Ancients 2 or Dota 2 championship at Seattle's Key Arena sold out all 10,000 seats priced at $499 US a ticket. Winners and runners-up took home almost $11 million in prizes.

The new app will provide breaking news and live scores for League of Legends from professional leagues in Korea, North America, Europe and China, along with breaking news coverage of Dota 2, Counter-Strike: GO, Call of Duty, StarCraft II and Hearthstone, with "more games and regions coming soon."

It will also provide links to live streams of games.

The company said an iOS app is coming soon.

TheScore already has two similar apps for traditional sports: one dedicated to professional soccer, and another that covers NFL, NCAA football, MLB, NBA, NHL EPL and La Liga. It also has a fantasy sports app called Swoopt.