ESL has announced Intel as the official headline sponsor of the ESL Premiership, the UK’s national esports league. As part of the sponsorship deal, Intel will be collaborating with Currys PC World to highlight its processors in gaming machines sold by the retailer.
Intel is most definitely no stranger to esports sponsorship and is involved with some of the biggest tournaments in the world. The Intel Extreme Masters springs to mind immediately, which takes place in different locations attracting the world’s best players to global locations. Additionally, the brand has recently entered a sponsorship deal with Blizzard’s Overwatch League which has undoubtedly got off to an impressive start.
Undoubtedly, securing a big name sponsor such as Intel is great news for ESL UK as the Premiership continues to expand. The sponsorship will allow ESL to “secure the future of the UK’s premier esports national championships” as well as “embark on an expansion programme aimed at supporting and growing esports at a grassroots level in the UK”.
“Intel is the largest endemic brand currently within esports,” commented James Dean, UK managing director at ESL. “To have Intel as headline sponsor of the ESL Premiership for 2018, not only solidifies that claim, but adds further credibility to our National Championship, which has grown year on year for the past five years.”
He continued: “We’re also pleased to have the involvement of Currys PC World, another household brand familiar to UK gamers for years. Partners like these are imperative to running successful, national-level esports. We are proud to be associated with brands like Intel and Currys PC World and we look forward to working with them closely to further develop the growing grassroots esports ecosystem in the UK.”
Part of the sponsorship deal will see all PC’s used during offline finals fitted with an 8th Gen Intel® Core™ i7 processor. The ESL Premiership features four titles. The first, which has just got underway is Rainbow Six, with Counter-Strike: Global Offensive, League of Legends and Hearthstone continuing from previous success.
Esports Insider says: Nice deal here from ESL as they get the giants of Intel & Currys PC World on board with the UK Premiership. It’s a vitally important product in the esports ecosystem and it seems like it’s all set for another year of growth.