As the holiday season draws ever closer, the esports industry shows no sign of slowing down. There’s still plenty of news flying about to keep us on our toes. This week the biggest stories come as ESL reveal record-breaking figures from the Pro League Season 6 as well as H2K partnering with Lagardère Sports. Additionally, Riot UK has made a new hire in the esports space and London Spitfire has partnered with Code Red Esports.
Lagardère Sports becomes exclusive marketing partner of H2K
Lagardère Sports has announced that a deal has been struck with another esports organisation, this time in the form of H2K.
Following the sports marketing agency’s market entry it has signed a number of high profile deals and this follows similar partnerships with the likes of SK Gaming, Splyce, Team ROCCATT and Unicorns of Love. The agency has been behind sponsorships such as Gerolsteiner and Trust Gaming for Unicorns.
Lagardère Sports’ role in the partnership will again be to help H2K acquire new sponsors and expand and optimise the team’s marketing opportunities. The agency will also be responsible for ‘creative activation promotions and secure thematic partnerships for the organisation’.
Read the full article here.
Code Red and London Spitfire announce partnership
London Spitfire, the only Overwatch League franchise affiliated with the UK, today announced a partnership with the nation’s local esports agency, Code Red Esports.
The move will see Code Red take a leading role in helping London Spitfire set up in the UK, including providing assistance with a move into new headquarters in England’s capital city.
The agency will also lend its expertise to developing local partnerships for the brand, and will spearhead a series of local functions, from viewing parties to official Overwatch amateur events.
Code Red, who operate under the tutelage of their Managing Director and esports icon Paul ‘Redeye’ Chaloner, will provide a pivotal point of contact with the local community. Paul described how the company was ‘thrilled’ to be able to assist with the franchise’s development, and insisted they are “excited by what the team and the project can do for UK esports.”
Read the full article here.
Riot UK hires former Wargaming Head of Esports
Riot’s UK office has a new member of the crew after the League of Legends developer announced that it has hired Mo Fadl, to ‘drive and develop UK LoL esports’.
Fadl arrives well versed in esports and is the former Head of Esports from Wargaming. He will henceforth be at the centre of Riot’s efforts to enhance its esports community, and seems a sensible pick having been an active member of the LoL community 2010.
His appointment is the latest step in Riot’s new strategy to develop the local esports ecosystem with a primary grassroots focus. As such Mo will be connecting with local players, and look to take on their feedback and constructive criticisms, of which no doubt there’ll be plenty with an incredibly opinionated community. He’ll also work with organisations and look to ensure there is a clear and well defined path to pro.
Fadl said of his appointment: “I am so happy to be joining Riot Games to become an integral part of the League of Legends community. I myself am an active LoL gamer and have been since 2010. I love being part of this unique, constantly evolving community so I am very excited about how this role will enable me to blend my passion for the game and community with my career.”
Read the full article here.
ESL Pro League smashes records as concurrent viewership grows 95%
Last week saw the conclusion of the ESL Pro League Season Six, with Brazilian side SK Gaming taking the title and winning the lion’s share of the $1,000,000 prize pool. The broadcast set new records for ESL, with a digital peak of 388,000 concurrent online viewers (excluding China) which represented a 95% growth when compared to Season Five which took place last June.
The Sparekassen Fyn Arena welcomed sold out crowds on each of the three event days, ushering in more than 5,000 dedicated Counter-Strike fans each day and was the fastest Pro League Finals to sell out to date.
The ESL release states that over four million hours of content have been consumed through 27 live streams, in a whopping 18 different languages and eight TV broadcasts. Over 110,000,000 social media impressions were achieved across Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
Read the full article here.