I remember last year when I was on holiday in Japan, Splatoon was a pretty big deal. One night when I was in a restaurant in Kyoto, I saw at least three or four people watching streams of pro players duking it out on the professional scene.

Now it looks like us Europeans will be able to join in with all the tomfoolery, as Nintendo announces a partnership with ESL to bring Splatoon tournaments to Europe.

Starting in early September and lasting for six months, a structured series of tournaments will play out for glory. The news comes as a mini-tournament played out over at gamescom in Cologne.

If you’ve not played Splatoon yet, then a free two-week demo period might tempt you over. The Splatoon Summer Testfire kicks off tomorrow and will be online until September 1. The Testfire allows you to download and play Splatoon for free. You never know, it might inspire you to chase that eSports crown!