Esports tournament organiser ESL FACEIT Group and game developer Supercell have announced a large-scale, multi-year partnership focused on mobile shooter game Brawl Stars.
For the 2024 season up to $2m (~£1.58m) in prize money will be handed out to teams in the Snapdragon Pro Series Brawl Stars Championship, a tournament series set to last between March and November.
The partnership will see EFG operate the Brawl Stars Championship, the game’s flagship esports circuit that includes the Brawl Stars World Finals. As a part of the deal, EFG will operate the circuit under its Snapdragon Pro Series brand of mobile esports tournaments, and continue to organise the World Finals.
The expansion of the partnership between the two brands builds on the popularity of Brawl Stars, one of the first games to be included in the inaugural edition of the Snapdragon Pro Series. The Brawl Stars finals of the Snapdragon Pro Series featured a $200,000 (~£158,000m) prize pool and took place at DreamHack Japan in May 2023.
Supercell first hinted at an expansion of its esports ecosystem earlier this year when it announced changes to its 2024 season.
The two companies announced that Brawl Stars will be one of the mainstays of the Snapdragon Pro Series competition in the years to come. The format changes will enable a larger number of players to try and secure a place in the Finals in November 2024. Five regional leagues will take place this year: APAC, EMEA, North America, South America and China.
The partnership does follow on from ESL FACEIT Group announcing a surprising round of layoffs in late February, affecting around 15% of its global workforce across all levels. The company noted that focus and moves towards profitability are the main reasons, as well as “sustainable growth ambitions”. Prior to that, in 2024 the company announced its own streaming service called FACEIT Watch and revealed that it will produce the new Overwatch Champions Series.
Sam Braithwaite, Vice President of Mobile Game Ecosystems at ESL FACEIT Group, commented on the announcement: “Brawl Stars has been a catalyst for the growth of the Snapdragon Pro Series since Day 1, as has our work with Supercell across other titles such as Clash of Clans.
“Our fundamental knowledge of the Brawl Stars esports ecosystem and years of experience operating mobile leagues at a global scale position us to make the Brawl Stars Championship 2024 the best one yet.”
