Turtle Entertainment‘s ESL has expanded its partnership with technology company Intel through to 2021. As of writing, the two parties have been working together for 18 years.
As part of this new deal, the two parties will launch new esports tournaments in the Asia-Pacific region and plan to “trial new technologies during large-scale tournaments”. Over $100 million (£79 million) will be invested over the next three years.
Intel is ESL’s global technology partner and will continue to work with the tournament organiser on ESL One and Intel Extreme Masters (IEM) events, ESL CS:GO Pro League, and the Intel Grand Slam (which Astralis just won).
Ralf Reichert, Founder and co-CEO at ESL commented on the long-standing partnership: “ESL and Intel have worked side by side on growing esports for nearly two decades. We built a number of cornerstones of this industry together and helped many gamers in becoming legends of the sport. The long-term extended partnership with Intel opens even more opportunities for us to take our efforts to a whole different level on a global scale.”
IEM, a series of international esports tournaments, was founded in 2007 as ESL-sanctioned events that are sponsored by Intel. Over its tenure, IEM has hosted titles such as StarCraft II, Counter-Strike: Global Offensive, League of Legends, and Hearthstone. Tournaments have been hosted in locations such as Katowice in Poland, Chengdu in China, Dubai in the United Arab Emirates, and Los Angeles in the United States.
John Bonini, Vice President and General Manager of VR, Gaming and Esports at Intel Corporation added: “This joint investment with ESL into the ecosystem means that the esports growth and innovation that we’ve led over the past two decades will continue. This partnership will advance the rapid evolution of esports, and Intel is committed to ushering in this new era with technology solutions that place the gaming community and fans first.”
The Intel Grand Slam is a $1,000,000 initiative that sees the winning team receive the total prize pool. Danish organisation Astralis, which is owned by RFRSH Entertainment, recently took home the inaugural run of the Grand Slam by winning four of the 10 most recent premier tournaments it competed in.
Esports Insider says: ESL and Intel have been working together longer than some professional players have been alive! The two companies have become synonymous with each other when discussing flagship events in the industry, so it’s great to see that their partnership will continue and is still growing.
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