Bell has been named the title sponsor for the Canadian League of Gamers 2016 season and Northern Arena, the League’s premier esports competition.

With Bell’s industry-leading network and event coverage on both TSN and RDS, Canadian gamers and esports fans are being taken to the next level with the partnership.

"Canada has some of the most passionate gamers in the world. Hosting these amazing players at Northern Arena on Bell’s powerful network is a perfect fit and brings Canada to the forefront of the international eSports scene," the visionary behind Northern Arena and Co-Founder of the Canadian League of Gamers Carl-Edwin Michel said. "I can’t wait to press play with the Canadian and international gaming elite and kick off Northern Arena’s 2016 competitions."

The partnership begins with the Call of the North online qualifiers on July 23-24. A slew of Counter-Strike: Global Offensive talent will lock horns with a shot at the Toronto LAN Finals at Fan Expo from September 1-4 and a piece of the $200,000 prize pool.

Bell’s sponsorship continues with a second Call of the North online qualifier from October 21-23 that will lead to the Montreal LAN Grand Finals at the Canadian Video Game Awards from November 11-13.

"Bell is proud to partner with Northern Arena’s eSports competition and bring to gamers Canada’s most advanced broadband products and services," Vice President of Corporate Marketing at Bell Loring Phinney said. "With Bell’s LTE Advanced and Gigabit Fibe network services, gamers will experience the fastest speeds and incredible response times for both mobile and online multiplayer games."

The esports market is trending upwards at a remarkable rate with global revenues expected to reach $1.3 billion by 2018 and the global audience to surpass 427 million by 2019.

"The sport for the digital generation ‘eSports’ is exploding with interest, becoming one of the fastest growing markets in the world," Co-Founder of the Canadian League of Gamers Greg Spievak said. "Our partnership with Bell will accelerate the growth of eSports in Canada and enhance the audience experience."