It's Street Fighter 5's Turn to Be Shown on ESPN

Having previously shown competitive Heroes of the Storm matches, ESPN will soon broadcast Street Fighter V for the first time.

The Street Fighter V World Championship is set to take place at the Evolution Championship Series--better known as Evo--later this month. The championship will be broadcast live on ESPN2 and WatchESPN, the network's streaming service. ESPN's press release proclaims the championship has attracted "unprecedented interest and popularity," as Evo saw more entrants for Street Fighter V in just four days than any individual game previously.

"The Street Fighter V World Championship will be one of the must-see competitions from the Evo finals," said ESPN's John Lasker. "We are always exploring ways to serve the growing and passionate audience of competitive gaming, and we look forward to delivering this event to fans."

Evo is set to take place from July 15-17 in Las Vegas. Along with Street Fighter V, competitions in games like Super Smash Bros. Melee and Mortal Kombat X will take place.

ESPN has placed an increasing emphasis on esports, which continue to grow in popularity. It first aired matches from Blizzard's MOBA, Heroes of the Storm, in 2015, which drew some criticism. It brought the game back again earlier this year anyway, and this latest news suggests it has no intention of dialing back its esports broadcasts.