London-based esports organisation Fnatic has entered a partnership with Florpad, a Swedish gaming mat brand.
Florpad is a subsidiary of Irootfor, a private equity firm endemic to esports. Irootfor also invests in energy drink brand X-Gamer, gaming apparel company Orcbite, and gaming merchandise company FadeCase.
This deal will see Fnatic and Florpad co-design a gaming mat, which aims to protect flooring from scratches caused by chair wheels, reducing noise when moving in the chair, and keeping the chair in a preferred position.
Wouter Sleijffers, CEO of Fnatic discussed the partnership in a statement: “Florpad is an innovative brand that has set its sights on the esports market and both sides felt this was a natural partnership to forge. We believe our fans can really benefit from what Florpad plan to deliver. Fnatic is committed to enhancing the viewing and gaming experience of our fans worldwide, and this partnership with Florpad will add to that even further. Both teams are deep in design mode and we can’t wait to show gamers and Fnatic fans what we’ve been working on.”
Fnatic is also partnered with DreamTeam, Chillblast, Deezer, Ballistix, Monster Energy, DXRacer, Newzoo, Strafe, and AMD. Most recently, the organisation announced its partnership with Rivalry.gg. Florpad hasn’t been around for long, but it also sponsors HellRaisers, Alliance, and Red Reserve.
Robert Hjelmér, CEO of Irootfor also commented: “When we looked at possible partners in the esports space, it was an absolute no-brainer to make contact with Wouter and the team. Fnatic is an esport pioneer from a pro-gaming perspective and in developing esports-grade peripherals for gamers. With our gaming mat expertise and Fnatic’s esports heritage, we all believe this collaboration is the start of something special.”
Fnatic is no stranger to selling gaming accessories, having its own range of peripherals called Fnatic Gear. In May, a new generation of this range was released alongside the signing of an exclusive deal stateside with Best Buy.
Esports Insider says: Florpad is snapping up partners left, right, and centre, but Fnatic is perhaps the most impressive deal yet. Its website isn’t even functioning yet so nobody can see the product, which puts a bit of a dampener on the initial announcement.