Each and every month, dozens of partnerships and sponsorships are announced in esports. It’s hard to keep track of every development if you don’t follow Esports Insider religiously, but even then, there’s a lot of content to consume.
To make things easier, Esports Insider has hand-picked a selection of the most impressive, surprising, and noteworthy deals that were announced in October 2019.
League of Legends esports adds Red Bull as global partner
Riot Games announced Red Bull as a global partner of League of Legends’ global esports events.
This is an expansion of a partnership between Riot Games and Red Bull that already included LEC and CBLOL and will see the energy drink brand sponsor the World Championship, Mid-Season Invitational, and All-Star Event.
Read the full article here.
Axe sponsors League of Legends esports in multi-year deal
Riot Games found another global sponsor for League of Legends with Axe, as part of a multi-year deal.
Axe will act as the official men’s grooming partner of the Mid-Season Invitational, World Championship, and All-Star Event. The deal kicks off with the 2019 World Championship – which is ongoing at the time of writing – through a “fully integrated campaign.” Details about said campaign and future activations were not disclosed alongside the sponsorship announcement.
Read the full article here.
Complexity Gaming announces partnership with Extra Life
North American organisation Complexity Gaming entered a charitable partnership with Extra Life.
A prominent activation will take place on November 2nd, seeing Complexity Gaming’s players and streamers join the Extra Life broadcast to raise funds and awareness. Other facets of the partnership include live streams, local hospital visits, a custom landing page for Complexity on Extra Life’s website, and social media content creation.
Read the full article here.
Fnatic extends Rivalry partnership with multi-year deal
London-based organisation Fnatic extended its partnership with esports betting company Rivalry in a multi-year deal.
The six-figure deal will see Rivalry continue to support Fnatic’s Counter-Strike: Global Offensive (CS:GO) team through 2021. The bookmaker will gain access to global image rights of the Fnatic players. The two will also continue to work together to produce collaborative content for Rivalry’s YouTube channel.
Read the full article here.
paiN Gaming changes gears with BMW sponsorship
Brazilian organisation paiN Gaming announced a sponsorship from automotive manufacturer BMW.
The deal includes a jersey sponsorship, branded content, events, and activations that will include “around 50 paiN Gaming pro players and influencers.” It also includes the image rights of the aforementioned personnel.
Read the full article here.
Envy Gaming and Jack Link’s team up in multi-year deal
American snack company Jack Link’s became the official protein snack of Team Envy, Dallas Fuel, and Dallas Empire.
The arrangement between the two comes in the form of a multi-year deal with planned collaborations of “fan activations, live events and a custom content series.” Per the official release, fans can expect to see content developed around their favourite players and plenty of Jack Link’s activations at future Overwatch League and Call of Duty League events.
Read the full article here.
LCS appoints Panasonic Avionics as in-flight broadcast provider
Riot Games partnered with Panasonic Avionics to take its North American league LCS onto aircraft equipped with Panasonic’s in-flight entertainment system.
Panasonic Avionics will become the exclusive in-flight provider of the LCS and Academy as part of the agreement, which will see matches available in a near-live format from launch, meaning fans won’t have to avoid social media for any spoilers.
Read the full article here.
University of Kentucky and Gen.G join forces for gaming program
University of Kentucky partnered with organisation Gen.G esports to build an esports and gaming program.
University of Kentucky and Gen.G will run a variety of programs throughout their partnership aimed at academic, community, and professional development. The organisation will work to grow the university’s gaming teams and act as a consultant on the construction of a dedicated facility for students to train on-campus.
Read the full article here.
Atlanta FaZe to compete in Call of Duty League
Atlanta Esports Ventures announced its partnership with North American organisation FaZe Clan when it unveiled its Call of Duty League franchise, Atlanta FaZe.
As explained on the Call of Duty League website, Atlanta FaZe is a result of a “deep-seated partnership” between Atlanta Esports Ventures and FaZe Clan. The franchise’s colours are black, red, and white, and its logo is a combination of ‘A’ and ‘F’.
Read the full article here.
Complexity partners with World of Warcraft guild Limit
Later in the month, Complexity Gaming sealed another deal: this time with World of Warcraft guild Limit.
The partnership will see the guild rebrand to ‘Complexity Limit’ and aims to “bring PvE into the spotlight.” Whilst no official plans have been announced for the next World First Race, Complexity Limit has positioned itself in a strong position to claim the number one spot from Method in the final raid of Battle for Azeroth.
Read the full article here.