Riot Games has announced the League of Legends Championship Series (LCS) has partnered with major restaurant chain Buffalo Wild Wings.
Buffalo Wild Wings (BWW, but often colloquially referred to as B-Dubs) is a restaurant chain known as much for the absurd amount of televisions on the wall as it is for the actual chicken wings.
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The company has been a major advertiser in sporting events for years and this LCS deal will bring esports into that sports-heavy real estate. According to the release, this is the first streaming deal between an esports property and a major restaurant chain to live stream events at scale.
Brandon Gill, Director of Experience and Gaming at Buffalo Wild Wings, said in a release: “As esports viewership and participation continues to grow, aligning with the most watched esport in North America is an important step toward giving our guests the best gameday experience possible – across all sports. Whether joining us on location or enjoying wings at home, League of Legends and LCS fans now have a go-to sports bar for match day.”
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This partnership with make Buffalo Wild Wings the official sports bar of the LCS, giving BWW access to LCS trademarks for advertising with games being broadcast through BWW’s OT Network, an in-bar channel delivering exclusive content.
Matthew Archambault, Head of NA Partnerships & Business Development at Riot Games, added: “We are always looking to extend our sport, competitive events and athletes in unique ways and to new audiences. Buffalo Wild Wings continues to bring fans closer to the excitement and atmosphere of live sports. And, we’re eager to deliver the first sports bar partnership in esports to our fans, especially as things really start to heat up within the LCS.”
Esports Insider says: Buffalo Wild Wings is certainly popular with American sports fans. Fall weekends for American Football and College Basketball’s March Madness are the most popular weekends as BWW’s wide array of TVs is best suited for watching multiple games at once. With this partnership, BWW gets more content, especially with the upcoming college football season on shaky ground and baseball games being postponed all over the place, and the LCS gets more exposure to the casual sports audience.