RFRSH Entertainment has named Japanese car manufacturer Toyota as an official partner for BLAST Pro Series Moscow.
The deal will see Toyota integrated into the broadcast of the tournament, including the closed CIS qualifications of BLAST Pro Series Moscow on August 10-11th.
Tatiana Khalyavskaya, Marketing Director at Toyota Motor Russia discussed the deal in a release: “We are glad to support a tournament of a such a great scale. And this is already the second esports project for Toyota in Russia. Esports’ audience consists of young and progressive people, who are on a first-name basis with modern technology. Technology has always been a core of Toyota cars, including regular range of cars and the latest developments.”
BLAST Pro Series Moscow is set to take place on September 13-14th at the VTB Arena for a total prize pool of $250,000 (£206,000). Among the teams in attendance are Natus Vincere, EnNCE Ninjas in Pyjamas, MIBR, and Team Vitality. The closed CIS qualifications held on August 10-11th will determine the last participating team.
Leo Matlock, Head of Commercial Solutions at BLAST Pro Series added: “We are delighted to welcome Toyota as one of a key sponsors of BLAST Pro Series Moscow and the first ever car sponsor for BLAST. We aspire to reach new markets and grow the esports ecosystem with world class competitive entertainment, and being able to announce such a prestigious partner in our first tournament in Moscow – in what will be one of the biggest esports tournaments ever held in Russia – is a great showcase of the global appeal of BLAST Pro Series.”
Bookmaker Betway, gaming hardware brand OMEN by HP, and streaming platform Twitch have all been named as global sponsors for the BLAST Pro Series.
Esports Insider says: This is not the first car-based sponsorship we have seen in esports and it will probably not be the last. It is the first for BLAST however, so we’re intrigued to see just how the major automotive company is integrated into the event.