Intel and ESL team up for new esport partnership worth $100 million

Intel and ESL have announced a new partnership that will invest $100 million into the esports scene. The announcement will see one of the longest running esports partnerships continuing into 2021 and will feature a host of competitive gaming tournaments being established in some new global territories.

The three year deal will allow pro gamers at ESL’s tournaments benefiting from being able to use Intel’s high-powered gaming PCs and live streaming technology, and it will help ESL expand their global reach with a new tournament in China being implemented in the near future.

© ESL

Strategic partnership between two key players in the esports realm

The Intel Extreme Masters is one of esport’s most popular and longest-running games tournaments, and the $100 partnership deal will aim to expand on this hugely successful interplay between ESL and Intel. The deal’s basic premise is to boost the visibility of competitive gaming on the global stage, and it’s expected that there will be a wide range of new tournaments unveiled in the coming months.

Whilst the Intel Extreme Masters will begin its 14th season in 2019, the new partnership will also add another competition to the yearly roster. It’s thought that special attention will be paid to the burgeoning esports scene in the Asia-Pacific regions with the Intel Extreme Masters in China being the main focal point.

With no less than 73 different Intel Extreme Masters events having taken place before, it’s thought that the new partnership will add stability to this long-established competition and provide Intel with plenty more exposure for their technological products.

Building on past successes

Most gaming fans will know that the Intel Extreme Masters is the longest running global games tournament, and the traveling competition has treated gamers to top-class CSGO, LoL and StarCraft II contests in places as far afield as Los Angeles, Katowice and Dubai since it first kicked off in 2007.

The tournament was founded by the German esports organisation, ESL, who saw the need for properly organised competitive gaming in Europe. As one of the world’s most respected technology brands, Intel was quick to realise the potential of esports, and they sponsored the ESL events in order to increase brand visibility amongst a tech-savvy demographic.

The long-running partnership with Intel has helped ESL become one of the most successful esports organisations in the world. From the likes of the ESL One tournament that is coming to Birmingham, UK in 2019, to the phenomenally popular ESL Pro League and the ESEA contests, there is little denying the fact that this German esports brand have greatly benefited from the financial clout of Intel.

Intel’s grand vision for esports

Intel was one of the first brands to see the huge potential of esports. The company’s 18-year history of sponsoring esports events was way ahead of other big businesses like McDonalds and Audi who have only recently entered the esports fray, and their new deal with ESL will make it the largest esports brand and technology partnership in the world.

However, Intel have their sights set beyond the sponsorship of massive gaming tournaments like ESL One. The tech company have also lent plenty of support to some of the world’s most promising esports teams. From China’s ace League of Legends team, Edward Gaming, to North America’s illustrious female gaming organisation, CLG Red, Intel have proven that they are willing to help young gamers take things up a level.

All gamers know how important technology is to their gaming success, and Intel have been keen to use esports tournaments to show off their most devastating gaming hardware. The announcement between ESL and Intel will see the tech company unveiling their latest Intel Core i9 processors and 5G network to supercharge the gaming mayhem at these hugely popular tournaments.

Future plans for ESL and Intel

Gamers can get their first taste of this new partnership when the Intel Extreme Masters comes to Katowice in Poland on 27 February. This epic gaming event will see 24 top teams competing for a massive $1 million prize pool and there will be a packed house of 11,500 eager esports fans cheering on the CSGO gaming action.

But things won’t stop there, as future stops in places as far-reaching as Chicago and Sydney are expected to feature in the upcoming Intel Extreme Masters calendar, with the Sydney event being the historic 75th outing for this epic esports showdown.

It’s hugely impressive that the partnership between Intel and ESL has managed to survive well into its second decade. Whilst other esports tournaments like the Heroes of the Storm Global Championship have recently collapsed, it seems as though this partnership will see competitive gaming enter a new period of relative stability.