Mirage Digital, a content studio for digital entertainment, has partnered with esports organization Team Liquid to stream the World of Warcraft: Race to World First event.
The immersive channel experience, starting on August 12, will debut via major OTT (over-the-top) and FAST (free ad-supported streaming TV) platforms, giving fans a new way to engage with one of the most anticipated competitive moments in eSports and an always-on destination for elite competition and behind-the-scenes storytelling.
Mirage has created a new content monetization model for creators and enterprising entities, unlocking previously untapped non-traditional revenue streams. The company helps its clients with repurposing, redistributing, licensing, and selling content across numerous platforms and territories.
With over 35 million social media followers across platforms, 100+ championship titles with its over 120+ players and content creators worldwide, Team Liquid is the highest-earning esports team in the world to launch a 24/7 live-streaming programming experience surrounding the fan-favorite event.
Resulting in over $1 million for its eclectic roster of over 300 creators, the company leverages its extensive creator network and expertise in original content development to redefine digital content syndication.
John Littel, CEO of Mirage Digital, said in an interview with GamesBeat that the company built out a FAST channel for Team Liquid that is streaming on Roku.
“We’ve been working together over the last several months to really bring Team Liquid to television, which is super exciting across the board,” Littel said. “And one thing we’re super excited about is actually putting Race To World First, which is an incredible, big focal point for World of Warcraft.”
Littel added, “It’s really big, momentous point for esports on the next big screen.”
In January 2025, Roku reached around 90 million households, which tells you how many people may be watching the FAST channels around the world. Those people are ripe targets that Team Liquid would like to reach as brand new viewers.
“We definitely see a trend of people moving more and more toward these FAST channels and realizing that they can get some real high-quality viewership, whether it’s from new programming, such as a Team Liquid channel, or even some legacy content, such as films and older television shows,” said Littel.
Team Liquid’s audience is already in tune with the free platforms as Twitch and YouTube are largely free. Team Liquid is prominently around the world, as it finished second place in last year’s Esports World Cup.
Mirage Digital is bridging the gap between creators and enterprise opportunities by sourcing high-quality content from creators and repurposing it for expanded deal flow and pipeline of distribution across OTT and FAST platforms
Team Liquid, coming off a championship win in March, is set to make history with its most ambitious Race to World First campaign yet, with live coverage kicking off in July. For the first time, the tournament and its surrounding content will be broadcast beyond Twitch to OTT and FAST audiences, expanding access for new and longtime fans alike.
The multi-day broadcast will include full tournament coverage alongside exclusive behind-the-scenes content, player profiles, real-time strategy breakdowns, and each day’s highlights – providing an unprecedented level of access to Team Liquid’s journey and personalities within the event.
Every six or eight months, Blizzard Entertainment comes out with a new content drop for World of Warcraft. All the guilds in the world then get into a race to clear through the content first.
Team Liquid and Europe’s guilds Echo and Method are often the first to finish. There is always a lot of drama, behind-the-scenes info, and interviews around the tournament that also happens.
“It’s always been who’s going to win between the two regions and it becomes this almost global battle, for 24 hours a day, where EU fans get on watch their guild, and then as their guild starts to end the day, our guild comes online in North America, and it’s kind of this ping pong back and forth in terms of who’s winning the race,” said Caleb Anderson, senior director of sales and partnerships for Team Liquid, in an interview with GamesBeat.
Quite often the top guilds are both within 1% of killing the final boss in the expansion. Roku and the Samsung OTT solutions turn out to be a good way to reach consumers here with this kind of content, Anderson said.
Team Liquid will bring its world-renowned Race to World First event to new audiences with a livestream on The Roku Channel in late August. Widely regarded as one of the most thrilling competitions in MMORPG gaming, Race to World First draws millions of global viewers eager to watch elite teams battle for supremacy in World of Warcraft.
Known for pushing the boundaries of eSports entertainment, Team Liquid is once again innovating – this marks the first time the iconic event will be available via a dedicated OTT streaming platform, giving fans an even more immersive viewing experience.
Anderson said this deal is important from the mentality of fans.
“I hear a lot more Esports teams talking about it, even a lot of sports teams nowadays where we want to go where our fans are. We want to make sure we are putting our content out on as many places as possible. And I think traditionally, Twitch and YouTube has been the dominant player for all things gaming, all things esports. And while that’s an incredibly fruitful business for us and a great content engine for us, we also have some fans that don’t have YouTube and Twitch as their primary source of entertainment.”
He added, “We want to make sure that we’re acknowledging them and bringing content to them. So I think for us, it’s getting content to our fans, and then secondary to that, we have a lot of really cool IP and I think Race To World First is a really good example of that, where currently Race To World First takes over most gaming streaming platforms. It’s the highest viewership thing that everyone tunes into, even if they’re not a World of Warcraft fan.”
Anderson Team Liquid is well-equipped to have an always-on channel running since it has docu series and other events always happening.
“We’re super excited for Roku, super excited to be working with the Mirage team as well,” Anderson said. “We felt like Mirage was best equipped to help us get to where we want to be at this finish line.”
OTT platforms like Roku, Samsung and Pluto are on 24/7 and they’re often filled with legacy content that is ad supported. The ad-based free channels are starting to benefit from backlash to paid subscriptions. With hundreds of hours of programming, an esports organization like Team Liquid can fill those platforms, Anderson said.
“It’s just putting on a fun gaming or esports or whatever show that you can watch around the clock,” said Anderson.
This moment also marks the first time Team Liquid has programmed content specifically for a FAST Channel, a move that speaks to the maturation and crossover appeal of eSports for general audiences.
“This moment represents a turning point in how competitive gaming is consumed,” said Littell. “We’re not just broadcasting a tournament – we’re building a 24/7 experience that blends storytelling, access, and gameplay into one seamless format. Partnering with Team Liquid allows us to push the industry forward and set a new standard for how eSports lives across platforms.”
The Race to World First event commences late August that will be streamed exclusively on The Roku Channel. Fans can continue to watch on Twitch, but will now also be able to experience the full story across OTT and FAST platforms for the first time on the Team Liquid FAST Channel via The Roku Channel.
Founded in 2021 by serial entrepreneur Griffin Haddrill, Mirage Digital is a leading digital content studio specializing in content syndication and monetization. With a growing content catalog, partnerships with over 300 creators, and a presence on OTT and FAST platforms, Mirage Digital is redefining the future of digital content and helping creators monetize their content.
Team Liquid is a global eSports powerhouse founded in 2000, now operating in over 15 titles—including League of Legends, Counter‑Strike 2, Dota 2, VALORANT, Rainbow Six, and more—across multiple regions.
Headquartered in Utrecht with major training facilities in the U.S. and Brazil, Team Liquid supports a roster of 150+ pro players alongside Liquipedia, the world’s leading eSports wiki. Owned by aXiomatic—whose partnership includes figures like Magic Johnson and Tony Robbins—it has earned top honors, such as an LCS title and a Counter‑Strike Intel Grand Slam.
“We’re really excited to have a piece of digital real estate for Team Liquid and their fan base to just be able to come by, drop by, show their support for one hour, two hours, or 24 hours, if they want,” said Littel. “They’ll be able to watch the content on Roku and just see some really cool, never-before-seen content that’s not typically on YouTube or Twitch.”
“At the end of the day, if somebody can watch Team Liquid on Roku for 15 minutes or an hour, it’s building that fandom. We’re providing content in as many places as possible and helping build that entertainment ecosystem that all of esports is striving for,” Anderson said.