On 26th April 2018, Vodafone posted a blog onto their website announcing a new partnership with ESL. This partnership of course means sponsorship from Vodafone to some of ESL’s biggest events, but could there be more of a benefit than there initially seems? From increased visibility for women, to a potential open door for further mobile investors, we’re taking a deeper look at just what this partnership involves and the potential benefits it could bring to eSports.
Who Are Vodafone and ESL?
Vodafone and ESL are similar in that they both sit as leaders in their industries. However, for those who may know one but not the other, or maybe even those who don’t know either, we’re going to give you a quick rundown on who’s who:
Vodafone
Operating in 26 countries across the globe and with partnership agreements in a further 49, Vodafone are one of the biggest mobile providers in the world. With over 500 million customers across the globe, they aim to provide fast, cost-effective and innovative services whether texting, calling, sending images or using data. With offerings for businesses too, their reach is huge and, as you can imagine, the potential for ESL to benefit from this reach could see the company and its events expanding in popularity considerably.
ESL
Perhaps the biggest eSports company in the world, ESL is the brains behind some of the greatest gaming events across the world. Despite being based in Cologne, Germany, their ESL Play, ESL Pro Leagues, ESL National Championships, ESL One and Intel Extreme Masters have been known to spread worldwide to the likes of Dubai, the USA and beyond. ESL One even broke records with online views topping 1 million on Twitch, giving us just a small insight into how popular ESL and its tournaments truly are – so how can Vodafone help an already successful company?
The Partnership
The partnership of an eSports giant and a leading global telecommunications company actually makes more sense than it may initially seem. The partnership and its resulting deal will see Vodafone’s sponsorship covering some of ESL’s biggest events including the Intel Extreme Masters, ESL One and the ESL Pro League. The partnership is still fresh news, and so the full nature has yet to reveal itself, however Vodafone’s statement on their website claims that “the collaboration with ESL highlights how Vodafone’s international network brings together gamers and fans from 25 countries.”
This further pushes Vodafone and ESL’s joint aim of connecting people across the world, only this time it will take the form of gaming in eSports. The first opportunity we’ll get to see how Vodafone and ESL work together will be at the IEM Sydney event in May 2018. This event is a women’s eSports event, and highlights Vodafone’s position as a premier partner in the spread of diversity within the games. Further events include: ESL One Birmingham (May 2018), ESL One Cologne (July 2018).
What Could It Mean?
Of course, with Vodafone’s active role in ESL through this partnership, there is plenty we could see from both companies in the future. Not only will we see increased sponsorship around the events, but viewers are also treated to a new live broadcast called ‘The Vodafone View’ and plenty of content to keep players and viewers alike interested. This isn’t the only potential benefit for eSports fans. In fact, there are more to consider, which we’ve listed here:
- Further Investments
ESports are all about communication considering that most games are played online throughout tournaments, and as a result, Vodafone could not only help to improve the telecommunications throughout ESL, but could also encourage another global telecommunications companies to get involved. Whether they opt for providing further investment for ESL to grow bigger and better than ever or instead opt for investing in alternate companies or events that are constantly cropping up throughout the industry. This could change the world of eSports as we know it, encouraging further tournaments and increased publicity for those that are already building momentum.
- Increased Publicity For Women’s eSports
Women’s eSports has undoubtedly been brushed aside in the past, with the harmful ‘girl gamer’ mindset making it difficult to push, but Vodafone are looking to work with ESL to increase diversity and invite women to get involved in further tournaments beyond the women-only offerings. With IEM Sydney holding the ESL Women’s Sydney Open, this is the perfect opportunity for ESL and Vodafone to start putting into play some of the diversity policies they’re looking to promote.
It could be argued that it’s too soon to really tell just what Vodafone has in store for the eSports industry. From increased advertisement and sponsorship that could improve the reach of current eSports tournaments, to their position as premier partner in diversity issues, especially those involving women competing in and making a career out of eSports, there’s plenty that could happen in the future. Whether it does or not is a matter of watching and with two events being hosted this May, it’s only a matter of time before we get that chance.
