Riot unveils their first stream sponsor during the broadcast of the World Championship
League of Legends developer Riot Games, the tournament organizer for this year’s League of Legends Worlds Championship, just unveiled the first ever stream sponsor for their biggest tournament of the year: Acer.
The computer and electronics global brand will sponsor the entirety of the 2016 Worlds month, which will tour through the cities of San Francisco, Chicago, New York and the finals, in Los Angeles.
Riot, known for organizing its own league broadcasts and high-profile tournaments, has been noticeably stingy and selective in securing sponsorship partners for its coveted esports broadcasts. Their partnership with Acer for this year’s Worlds marks only the second major stream monetization and partnership deal outside of its 2015 involvement with Coca-Cola for that year’s Mid-season invitational.
Marks of the Acer sponsorship manifested in the inclusion of the Acer Predator logo in the highlights and replays of the event on the broadcast. Players and coaches also sported Acer Predator headphones while on stage.
For years, the League of Legends developer has opted out of sponsorship deals with both endemic and non-endemic sponsors in the eSports space, a move which has contributed into keeping the Worlds prize-pool pegged at $2 million since 2013.
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