The organisers of the EA SPORTS NHL 23 World Championship, the official esports tournament of the National Hockey League (NHL), have announced its first key partners for this year.
Hair salon chain Great Clips, Canadian bank Scotiabank and car manufacturer Honda will be the tournament’s main partners for 2023, with all three brands renewing their contracts.
The top-tier NHL esports tournament was rebranded this year. Previously called the NHL Gaming World Championship, 2023 will be the first year with the new name. The tournament will have a $100,000 prize pool and is set to take place later in the year. The first NHL LAN event of the new season is the EA SPORTS NHL 23 All-Star Open on February 2nd.
DreamHack Sports Games will continue producing the Championship in 2023. The NHL also announced that there will be more esports content and activations during the year, with streams, player takeovers, and in-person events, as well as club tournaments.
The three partners announced for 2023 are all well-known to fans of both NHL esports and the NHL in general, with all three brands being notable partners of the real-world NHL. Interestingly, Navy Federal Credit Union, last year’s partner of the NHL esports tournaments, was not announced as a partner for this year.
Japanese car manufacturer Honda has been a partner of the tournament since its inception in 2018 and is also the Official Automotive Partner of the NHL.
Scotiabank, a Canadian banking institution, will return as an exclusive Canadian partner for the sixth year. Scotiabank is also the Official Bank of the NHL. The company is also a banking partner for a number of NHL teams, including Toronto Maple Leafs and Edmonton Oilers. Lastly, Great clips, a hair salon franchise from the United States, also returns as a partner.
