Esports tournament organiser BLAST has expanded its partnership with gaming furniture brand Blacklyte to cover the Fortnite Championship Series (FNCS) as well as the Rocket League World Championship (RLCS).
As the Official Gaming Chair Partner of both esports circuits, Blacklyte chairs will be part of branding activations and the on-site competitions.
Established in 2022, Blacklyte operates under its parent company, Arcus Home, with significant involvement in the esports industry. In June of this year, Blacklyte secured a large-scale partnership with BLAST Premier and BLAST Rainbow Six Siege events.
With the addition of two more BLAST-operated circuits, the gaming chair brand has become the first commercial partner of the FNCS. Blacklyte’s chairs will be featured during both competitions and will be used by players, talent and content creators across on-site co-streamer booths. The company will also receive a broadcast and physical branding integration.
For fans at the events, Blacklyte will host a demo space, allowing attendees to experience the brand’s products and participate in chair giveaways.
BLAST began operating the RLCS at the start of the year as part of a deal with game publisher Epic Games, which also included the continuation of BLAST’s FNCS production. Both circuits will be hosted at the Dickies Arena in Dallas Fort Worth, Texas. Offering a $2m (~£1.5m) prize pool, the Fortnite Championship will first take over the arena on September 7th and 8th. This is followed by the RLCS, with a prize pool of $1.17m (~£889,000) from September 13th-15th.
Since its foundation in 2016, tournament organiser BLAST has gained a significant stake in esports. The company works with game publishers, such as Valve and Ubisoft, to deliver large-scale esports events, including Counter-Strike 2 (CS2) and Rainbow Six Siege Majors.
This year, BLAST announced a major expansion into Dota 2 tournaments with the BLAST Slam circuit. Moreover, the event organiser has already revealed the dates for its 2025 CS2 events as well as adjustments to the game’s circuit.
Alexander Lewin, SVP of Commercial Revenue for BLAST, commented on partnering with Blacklyte: “Blacklyte becoming the first commercial partner of the FNCS is a landmark moment for Competitive Fortnite. We are delighted to expand our partnership with Blacklyte to include two popular esports in FNCS and RLCS.”
