ESforce has announced a partnership with PepsiCo which will specifically see energy drink brand Adrenaline Rush become a partner with one of ESForce’s teams, Virtus.pro.
The news was posted on Cybersport.ru, and although the post is all in Russian, it has since been confirmed by various ESforce associates on Twitter.
Happy to announce our partnership with Adrenaline Rush as a part of a global cooperation between PepsiCo and ESForce! pic.twitter.com/yeUfN2oBPM
— Roman Dvoryankin (@dvoryrom) May 18, 2017
There’s not a huge amount of information regarding the deal, yet the Adrenaline Rush deal is seen as part of a “global cooperation” and is labelled the “first project” thus implying that the PepsiCo partnership has much wider implications and possibilities.
It’s not the first time Adrenaline Rush has been in and around esports, however. Adrenaline Rush was the title sponsor of the “Adrenaline Cyber League”, a tournament in which 16 CIS/Russian teams were invited to qualify, and two teams were directly invited to the four team LAN finals. FlipSid3 Tactics and Tengri were joined by qualifiers Gambit Gaming and Team Spirit, with Gambit taking home first place and $50,000 (£38,400), half of the total $100,000 (£76,800) prize pool.
It’s the latest addition to the ever growing ESforce portfolio, having already struck a partnership with MediaMarkt just last month. It’s another big brand as well – and it’s not too difficult to see why investors are attracted to ESforce.
With a portfolio of teams including Virtus.pro, Natus Vincere and SK Gaming and some of the largest media brands in the CIS and Russian region it’s clearly an attractive prospect. Both MediaMarkt and PepsiCo are large companies and although any intricate details of the deals have not been revealed, one would assume that they’re not the smallest of partnerships.
Although Virtus.pro is a name synonymous with success in the Counter-Strike: Global Offensive scene, recent results have been fairly awful. Yesterday their relegation from the ESL Pro League to the ESEA Premier Division was confirmed after a 2-0 loss to an up and coming PENTA squad.
Esports Insider says: Another big deal for ESforce, this time with PepsiCo. Adrenaline Rush is the first fruit of this partnership, but what else will we see in the future?