The new Dota 2 team, Team NP, took to their website to reveal their second sponsor. This one comes from the gambling industry and is esports specialist GG.Bet.
Welcome to our family @NPDotA! We are very proud to be the partners of your fantastic team! More: https://t.co/Zv5mLXeCCn pic.twitter.com/FK4htpTMIP
— GG.BET (@ggbet_en) November 9, 2016
The relatively fresh roster is spearheaded by Jacky ‘EternalEnvy’ Mao, a player involved in the Team Secret drama surrounding ill timed payments and cuts being taken from players that were not previously agreed.
Although it’s unconfirmed – it seems as though Jacky has continued to operate in a team whereby there is no official ownership structure but it is in fact run by the players. Their previous sponsorship announcement saw FYM Hot Sauce announce a sponsorship in their first foray into the esports realm.
It’s the latest in a string of sponsorships for esports dedicated GG.bet, though. Before sponsoring Team NP, they had existing sponsorship with CIS team Team Empire and North American company Luminosity Gaming. Fans are offered a specific code to enter when signing up which will provide them with a bonus upon signup.
In the announcement on their website GG.bet stated (seeming to reaffirm that Jacky is running his own team):
“We consider supporting the independence of Team NP to be a privilege. What Jacky ‘EternalEnvy’ Mao is trying to achieve with his new team is a breath of fresh air for esports. Successful player-run organizations are a dime in a dozen and GG.Bet will do it’s absolute best to help this team grow.”
Esports Insider: It’s great to see NP picking up sponsorship despite not being a big name in esports (although the players are fairly high profile). GG.bet offer a huge range of odds and as previously mentioned – it’s not their first sponsorship so they should be well versed by now.