A wide and surprisingly diverse array of partnerships saw light this April. To keep you up to date, Esports Insider has compiled a rundown of the month’s most important esports sponsorship and partnership stories. To read more about a story below, click the link in the corresponding title.
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Esports production company and tournament organiser BLAST has entered a partnership with London-based sports solutions firm The Sports Consultancy (TSC). The two parties will collaborate to find host cities for BLAST Premier’s 2023 season, with the bidding process handled by TSC.
TSC has an extensive client portfolio when it comes to event bidding. The company has worked with the likes of World Rugby, British Athletics and Formula One.
Gaming hardware company HyperX has renewed its partnership with New Meta Entertainment (NME), the parent company of esports organisation Dignitas and media platform Raidiant.
HyperX will remain the official peripheral partner of Dignitas, and will also become the official peripheral partner of Raidiant. In addition, the hardware company has signed Dignitas VALORANT pro player Emmalee ‘EMUHLEET’ Garrido as an ambassador.
Brazilian esports organisation FURIA has reportedly signed cryptocurrency exchange company FTX as its latest sponsor.
Speaking to Esports Insider, FURIA confirmed that FTX will pay approximately $3.2m (~£2.48m) for the one-year deal. FURIA told Esports Insider that the one-year contract is only the first step, as the organisation aims to establish a ‘long term relationship’ with the sponsor.
Controller brand SCUF Gaming has expanded its partnership with North American esports entities OpTic Gaming and Envy Gaming.
According to the release, the undisclosed six-figure sponsorship deal includes SCUF logo placement on OpTic Halo, OpTic Texas, and Envy’s Rocket League jerseys.
UK-based gaming and lifestyle brand Quadrant has announced a partnership with cryptocurrency exchange platform Gate.io for its Quadrant Halo division.
As a result of the partnership, Gate.io’s logo will appear on the team’s jerseys during the HCS Major Kansas City 2022. According to the release, Quadrant will also benefit from Gate.io’s products and support.
Esports tournament organiser ESL Gaming has announced the expansion of its measurement partnership with North American data and measurement company Nielsen.
The agreement has been expanded to track more events per year as well as more broadcasts per platform and channel. The events covered include the ESL Pro Tour in CS:GO, ESL Gaming’s Dota 2 properties and its complete mobile esports ecosystem.
Games publisher Riot Games has announced a five-year deal with bank Santander. The agreement will cover the whole official League of Legends esports scene in Brazil.
Santander’s brand will be featured in the Brazilian League of Legends Championship (CBLOL) and in its Academy division. The Brazilian broadcasts of Mid-Season Invitational and League of Legends World Championship will also feature the new sponsor.
The Global Esports Federation (GEF) has announced a partnership with global sports, events and talent management company International Management Group (IMG).
GEF and IMG will work together on the upcoming Commonwealth Esports Championships that will take place in Birmingham this August. IMG will also support and consult the GEF for the second edition of the Global Esports Games, GEF’s flagship event.
North American esports organisation FaZe Clan has entered a partnership with financial technology company Current.
As a result, the organisation’s content creators will collaborate with the company on activations involving Current’s range of mobile banking products. FaZe told Esports Insider that while the deal initially revolves around FaZe content creators, esports activations aren’t off the table.
The Collegiate Esports Commissioner’s Cup (CECC) has named technology service provider CDW and multinational technology corporation Microsoft as presenting partners.
The Collegiate Esports Commissioner’s Cup is set to take place on May 7th-8th at the Gateway Center Arena in Atlanta, Georgia.
Portuguese esports organisation SAW has announced a partnership with German analytics company Shikenso.
As part of the deal, Shikenso will provide SAW with audience insights in an attempt to maximise sponsor exposure. Shikenso will run its AI-based analytics on the organisation’s streaming and social channels to measure engagement and media metrics, a release said.
Southeast Asian esports organisation Talon Esports has secured a partnership with online betting and gaming site M88 Mansion, which sees the Asia-focused online gambling brand become the main title sponsor for Talon’s Dota 2 team.
The agreement will see M88 Mansion featured on the in-game player names of its Dota 2 team, as well as on the team’s player kits, and social branding. A release said the partnership looks to expand the presence of both entities domestically and in neighbouring regions.
Indian esports and gaming streaming platform Loco has retained broadcast rights to show the NBA 2K League in the country. As a result, the platform will continue to broadcast the league as part of its ‘multi-year partnership’ first established in 2020.
As of April 21st, Loco will show all matches from the fifth NBA 2K League season. The streaming platform claimed its campaign promoting the league has generated 19m impressions in the region since 2020.
Esports Insider covered 22 partnership stories in the last two weeks of April. The graph above, taken from The Dotted Line newsletter, breaks down the types of partnerships we’ve been covering most.
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