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From sponsorships to industry-wide announcements, Insider Sport has you covered when it comes to the world of esports.

This week’s edition takes a look at Fnatic and Parimatch’s partnership, the British Esports Association teaming with Connexi, G2 announcing Pringles as a presenting partner, plus Formula 1 launching a mobile esports championship.

Fnatic announces Parimatch as new betting partner

Fnatic has struck a two-year global partnership with Parimatch which will see the online betting firm appear on the team’s official CS:GO uniforms.

As part of its deal, Parimatch has been named the official betting partner for Fnatic’s CS:GO team, whilst also having its branding displayed throughout events where the team is playing.

“At Fnatic, we view sports betting as an impactful way to enhance the overall esports experience, when undertaken in a responsible manner,” said Sam Mathews, Founder and CEO at Fnatic. “We are proud to partner with a forward-thinking, technologically innovative, global brand like Parimatch and look forward to collaborating with them to enhance the visibility of esports around the world.”

Both entities will collaborate on a range of content which will be distributed on Youtube and other social media platforms giving Parimatch the opportunity to showcase its brand to more than 15 million esport fans across the world.

The deal also represents a change of betting sponsor for Fnatic with the esports organisation previously partnered with Rivalry before the deal ended on 4 September.

“This partnership with Fnatic is another example of Parimatch strengthening ties with the international esports community, but it is the first time we can call ourselves partners of a truly global and legendary brand with more than 15 years of history,” added Stepan Shulga, Head of Esports at Parimatch.

Formula 1 launches mobile esports championship

Formula 1 has strengthened its esports product with the launch of a new competition dedicated to mobile racers.

The F1 Mobile Racing Esports Series, which is now underway, is the firm’s second esports championship and will feature a three month qualification period and a nine-day finals tournament to crown its first champion. 

Dr. Julian Tan, Head of Digital Business Initiatives and Esports at Formula 1, commented: “Mobile esports is a booming industry as Gen Zs and Gen Alpha spend more time gaming and on their phones. We see huge potential to develop our product set and expertise in this area in our ongoing effort to reach out and build our younger fanbase, providing ever more touchpoints for them to engage with Formula 1.

“This is part of F1’s strategy to continue making the sport more accessible to our fans through gaming and esports, especially with F1 Mobile Racing developed by Codemasters being completely free to download and with participation being free and open to all. We are excited to kick off our search for our inaugural F1 Mobile Racing Esports Champion 2020!”

The mobile competition follows on from the continued success of its F1 Esports Series, a sim-racing competition which for the fourth year in a row will be sponsored by Aramco.

British Esports Association teams with Connexi to provide ‘successful strategies’

The British Esports Association, a national body for competitive gaming in the UK, has partnered with Connexi to help educate non-endemic brands about the potential commercial benefits of the industry.

The sponsor marketplace will collaborate with the British Esports Association to help develop commercial deals for the UK esports sector. Additionally, both entities are looking to ‘better understand how traditional brands operate’ which could then result in providing resources to create ‘successful strategies’. 

Chester King, CEO of British Esports Association, said: “The UK esports scene is an exciting place to be right now. We do however recognise that we still need to catch up with other regions when it comes to brand engagement. This new partnership will help organisations from grassroots to household names gain new brand partnerships.”

Rory Stewart-Richardson, Founder and CEO of Connexi, added: “Connexi welcomes the opportunity to support both sides of the handshake. We believe the partnership with British Esports enables us to bridge the fundamental challenge of all parties being able to explain their opportunities, expectancy and ROI.

“We have seen phenomenal growth in this area and are fully engaged in this exciting challenge of ensuring brands are talking to the most commercially relevant esports assets.”

G2 Esports names Pringles as Making The Squad partner

G2 Esports has announced that Pringles will be the esports organisation’s presenting partner for its ‘Making The Squad‘ Youtube series.

Making The Squad, which is in its third season, is a talent-scouting show which sees G2 look for esports prospects to add to its roster with this iteration focusing on FIFA.

Lindsey Eckhouse, Commercial Director at G2 Esports, commented on the partnership in a release: “We are hugely excited to embark on the third series of Making The Squad with PRINGLES on board as our presenting partner. PRINGLES is an iconic, household name brand that resonates with consumers globally. The annual release of FIFA is one of the biggest moments on the global gaming calendar.

“By marrying the power of these two super-brands as partners, we truly believe we are set up to deliver the most compelling series of Making The Squad to date. We can’t wait to get going on creating the latest episodes of our much loved series for the esports community and beyond.”

This isn’t Pringles first foray into esports after with the company being very active in League of Legends during the 2020 LEC Spring Split.

Andreas Billker, Senior Marketing Activation Manager at Pringles, commented: “We are proud to announce ourselves as the presenting partner for the third series of Making The Squad. G2 are one of the most innovative and creative brands in esports, so we are hugely excited as to the possible opportunities this partnership offers to our brand and our global customer base.”

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