FLASHPOINT has announced a partnership with betting operator Pinnacle to make it the Counter-Strike: Global Offensive league’s first official sponsor.
The deal will see Pinnacle sponsor pre-show activities for featured matches and provide its match odds for in-play betting.
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According to a release, the partnership activations are “designed to give CS:GO fans engaging interactivity during the season.” The deal will debut today with the Pinnacle Open – a LAN qualifier consisting of eight teams competing at FACEIT’s Los Angeles facilities- where the winners have a chance to secure a spot in FLASHPOINT’s opening weekend on March 13th.
Kent Wakeford, Co-founder of Gen.G, a founding team in the league, commented on Pinnacle’s inclusion: “We’re delighted to partner with Pinnacle who sees our vision for a sustainable and profitable CS:GO league built for the fans. We believe we will have one of the most entertaining leagues in the world to develop the next generation of talent and players. We want our fans to interact with FLASHPOINT in unprecedented ways. Pinnacle will bring that level of engagement for us.”
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FLASHPOINT was officially unveiled on February 5th as the first team-owned CS:GO league, which makes competing organisations majority stakeholders in the circuit. In its initial year, FLASHPOINT will offer $2,000,000 (£1,540,450) in prize winnings for teams to clash over.
Paris Smith, CEO of Pinnacle, discussed growth opportunities for the company and esports as a whole: “Pinnacle’s passion for esports over the last decade has driven us to always look at ways to improve the customer experience and continue to build our presence within the community. While we do a lot of work internally to ensure that happens, partnering with FLASHPOINT is also an integral part of achieving these goals.
“At the very outset we were aligned in our goals of helping the industry grow and the esports community thrive. We’ve built a solid track record, and we’re very excited about what the next chapter has in store.”
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Pinnacle had effectively rubbed shoulders with FLASHPOINT already through a previous deal. In March 2019, the bookmaker became the official betting partner of the Esports Championship Series (ECS), which FACEIT curbed in order to produce FLASHPOINT.
Esports Insider says: Betting partners are event organisers’ best friends, offering revenue opportunities and plenty of unique ways to interact with an impassioned fan base. While Pinnacle’s sponsorship is big news for FLASHPOINT, we could’ve probably seen this coming based off its previous relationship with FACEIT.