Similarly to 2023, this year in esports has had its highs and lows. However, no matter the scene, a dotted line has always been signed as a myriad of esports partnerships are born. 

Layoffs, closures and questions surrounding esports’ sustainability have plagued the industry. Yet, despite these conversations, companies have expanded. Organisations are finding new ways to make revenue and non-endemic brands are still teaming up with esports teams to bolster revenue opportunities.

2024 has seen high-profile partnerships and sponsorships, with some of the biggest brands in the world getting involved in esports. From supermarkets to drinks brands and even one of the biggest sporting bodies in the world, esports has seen investment from all sectors. 

In line with this, Esports Insider has compiled some of the biggest and most notable partnerships from the last year in one article.

A partnership can be big for many reasons; maybe because it brings a mainstream brand into esports or it has a specific purpose that people can get behind. For French esports organisation Team Vitality, this partnership has both.

The organisation renewed its partnerships with four companies at the beginning of 2024, one of which was supermarket chain ALDI. The partnership was centred around Team Vitality’s League of Legends women’s roster, Rising Bees, to help grow the team’s appeal and audience outside its home country.

In October, the two brands unveiled a further collaboration focusing on toxicity towards women in gaming and specifically how to combat it whilst promoting diversity in esports. The collaboration resulted in a video titled ‘Des Failles dans La Faille‘ (Rifts in the Rift in English) which featured Rising Bees players and other figures discussing their experiences with misogyny in gaming and esports.

The company first became a partner of the organisation in 2021 and focused its efforts on the Rising Bees since its inception in 2023, but this year has increased its collaboration with Team Vitality including the co-created video.

In a year when fewer major brands were unwilling to invest in esports, Pepsi’s involvement with MAD Lions KOi was refreshing.  

In August Spanish esports organisation MAD Lions KOI, owned by Overactive Media and soon to be renamed Movistar KOI, announced a partnership with beverage brand Pepsi. 

Towards the end of the League of Legends EMEA Championship (LEC) campaign, Pepsi became the organisation’s official beverage sponsor and as such featured on MAD Lions KOI’s front jerseys for the prestigious competition. Luckily for Pepsi, MAD Lions’ achieved an incredible feat in qualifying for Worlds and as such the beverage brand was displayed at the event which later became the most-viewed esports event of all time.

Alongside the partnership with MAD Lions KOI, Pepsi also partnered with The Esports World Cup, a multi-title esports event organised by the Esports World Cup Foundation.

Global football governing body FIFA announced two major partnerships in June which reshaped the future of the FIFAe World Cup and many of its other events. 

The first announcement detailed that the FIFAe World Cup will make its return, with national teams now competing in the vehicle football game Rocket League due to a partnership between FIFA and Psyonix. Given that FIFA no longer has an official game to its name, with Electronic Arts now donning the EA FC moniker, this was the first major sign of FIFA’s esports priorities.  

The second announcement was a partnership with British game developer Sports Interactive to launch the FIFAe World Cup of Football Manager. Whilst Rocket League is an already established esport title, the expansion to the more niche Football Manager, displayed FIFAe’s willingness to expand into the unknown of football esports.

LCS is no stranger to large partnerships, but for its final season, the brand went out with a bang. This is the last major partnership for the LCS, with the competition being replaced in 2025 with the LTA.

The League Championship Series (LCS), Riot Games‘ franchised North American League of Legends competition, announced a partnership with American multinational conglomerate AT&T in February. 

The deal saw AT&T hosting a segment in the broadcast that was meant to be a ‘peak behind the curtain’ and focused on behind-the-scenes content when matches were taking place. This included clips of real-time audio from the matches. 

The company was also named the primary sponsor of the LCS Fan Fest and had its logo integrated into the broadcast and at the event, with it featuring on the headsets of players, referees and commentators.

Potentially the most controversial entry on the list, esports industry awards show Esports Awards announced a three-year partnership with Saudi Arabia-backed multi-title esports tournament Esports World Cup (EWC).

This resulted in the first of two Esports Awards ceremonies being held during EWC in August in Riyadh. The partnership garnered criticism due to Saudi Arabia’s stance on women’s rights, LGBTQ+ rights and censorship. Moreover, several notable industry stakeholders withdrew from the Esports Awards panel following the partnership’s announcement. 

At the time of the announcement Esports Awards CEO assured that EWC will have no control over the award nominations or the adjudication process and that Esports Awards will remain an “independently owned and operated entity.”

Multi–title esports competitions are all the rage in recent memory, whether it’s the Esports World Cup held in Riyadh, FIFAe’s football-focused World Cup or esports being featured at the Asian Games.

In 2024 another brand entered the conversation as the International Olympic Committee (IOC) partnered with the National Olympic Committee (NOC) of Saudi Arabia to launch the inaugural Olympic Esports Games 2025. 

This is the biggest attempt from the IOC to create a multi-title esports competition, complete with its own esports commission. As part of this deal, the 2025 games will be hosted in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. The specifics of the partnership are just as large, with the collaboration between the IOC and the Saudi NOC announced for the next 12 years.

The partnership is driven by Saudi Arabia’s social and economic transformation under Vision 2030.

Movember is an annual international event that aims to raise awareness and funding for men’s mental and physical health issues. It has a long-standing connection in esports with various organisations running campaigns and raising money for the charity involved. 

This year tournament organiser BLAST and German esports organisation Berlin International Gaming (BIG) were among a list of companies that launched notable campaigns. 

BIG launched its campaign alongside L’Oréal Men Expert and Movember called #GROWBIG. The collaboration was aimed at a younger male audience and focused on mental health as well as prostate cancer and testicular cancer awareness and prevention.

BLAST partnered with the men’s health charity Movember and made the charity the official mental health partner of BLAST Premier. This deal included activations focused on men’s mental health at the BLAST Premier World Final 2024.

Anime and esports have created an almost synonymous relationship of the year. So it’s no surprise to see that in June, Brazilian esports organisation FURIA announced a partnership with American streaming service Crunchyroll centred around the anime series My Hero Academia.

The two brands worked together to create a merchandise line inspired by FURIA and the My Hero Academia which launched later in the year. The collaboration was presented by Red Bull Ladeira Abaixo, the Brazilian version of the Red Bull Soapbox race, where FURIA fielded a car with My Hero Academia branding.

Apparel collections have been all the rage this year as FURIA also partnered with Champion later in the year, whilst other esports brands, such as 100 Thieves, G2 Esports and OpTic have done similar deals to create clothing lines and exclusive apparel packages. 

Esports tournament organiser ESL FACEIT Group has provided a glimpse into its Counter-Strike 2 event calendar for 2026.

In total, six event dates have been revealed by ESL from January to November 2026. Details surrounding each event, such as location, format and prize pool, have not been provided.

Announcing Counter-Strike events ahead of time has become common practice within the esports ecosystem, in large part due to Valve’s new tournament rulebook. In an attempt to create a more stable esports calendar, tournament organisers have to announce events in 2026 by January 1st, 2025. 

For events in 2027, announcements have to be made two years ahead of the tournament.

ESL’s first event of 2026 will take place on January 27th and last just under two weeks, concluding on February 8th. Interestingly, the second ESL tournament of 2026 will take place shortly after on February 23rd.

The calendar also features three shorter week-long events that will occur in April, May and November. According to ESL, more details surrounding all of its 2026 events will be provided in the near future.

The 2026 ESL Counter-Strike 2 calendar:

Earlier in the year, ESL announced that it would contribute at least $22m (~£16.8m) to its Counter-Strike ecosystem throughout 2025 and 2026. 

The ESL Pro Tour in 2025 will feature two championship events — IEM Katowice and IEM Cologne — as well as five ‘master’ category events. This includes ESL Pro League Seasons 21 and 22, IEM Dallas, IEM Chengdu and IEM Spring.

The Esports World Cup Foundation has announced a three-year partnership with game developer Smilegate for its FPS title Crossfire.

As a result of the collaboration, Crossfire will be included in the 2025 Esports World Cup, a multi-title annual esports event set to take place in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. 

The FPS title joins an evergrowing list of games featured in next year’s Esports World Cup. In total, 18 games have been announced with Dota 2, Counter-Strike 2, Call of Duty and Apex Legends all featured. 

Crossfire will be the second title to debut at the Esports World Cup. Earlier this month, it was revealed that Chess will also be featured at the event. 

Launched in 2007, Crossfire has developed a significant fanbase in China. Since 2019, the game has had a franchised esports league in China called the CFPL. Moreover, the game’s popularity in the country led to the creation of a drama show called Cross Fire in 2020. According to South China Morning Post, the show generated 980m views in less than four weeks after its release. 

Crossfire recently concluded its world championship earlier this month in Hangzhou. Chinese organisation Evolution Power walked out victorious and claimed the lion’s share of its $1.4m (~£1.1m) prize pool. 

Details surrounding the Esports World Cup 2025 Crossfire event, such as prize pool and format, have yet to be announced. 

Ina Jang, CEO at Smilegate Entertainment, commented on the news: “The inclusion of Crossfire in the Esports World Cup 2025 marks a significant milestone for both the game and its global esports ecosystem.

“As one of the most popular FPS titles worldwide, Crossfire has fostered a dedicated community of players and fans over the past decade. Joining the EWC provides an exciting platform to showcase the skill, passion and competitive spirit of Crossfire esports to a broader audience, further solidifying its place on the global stage.”

Since its launch, the Esports World Cup has been criticised by sections of the esports community due to its ties to the Saudi Arabian Public Investment Fund. Alongside the Saudi Arabian government’s wider investment in the esports space, discussions surrounding the country’s human rights record remain prevalent.

As esports continues to expand, it’s important to develop a workforce of well-prepared youth who are passionate about gaming and eager to build the industry.

NASEF, the Network of Academic and Scholastic Esports Federations, is a not-for-profit NGO (non-governmental organisation) that facilitates growth in scholastic esports. Over its seven-year history, NASEF has earned the respect of educators, esports federations, corporations and media organisations.

These stakeholders turn to NASEF for guidance in navigating the scholastic esports landscape, structuring programmes that drive youth development, workforce readiness and industry growth.

Esports provides educators with an engaging platform to gamify learning through immersive experiential student engagement. Ultimately, this leads to fostering teamwork, leadership and digital literacy, as well as career-specific skills. NASEF builds and maintains a global community where educators share best practices and curricula, through both the Scholastic Fellow program and its network of affiliates around the world.

NASEF partners with thousands of organisations, and currently has more than 100 designated global affiliates spanning all the continents from members across the United States, to NASEF Japan and NASEF China to NASEF Europe in collaboration with the Adriatic Esports Federations led by Montenegro. NASEF also has affiliates on the African continent with  Ruckus Media (South Africa), Zimbabwe, Kenya Ghana and Gambia, to name a few, all bolstering the connection of Play and Learning through scholastic esports.

Notably, NASEF aims to simplify the integration of esports into curricula and afterschool programmes by offering free resources, including frameworks and toolkits evaluated and assessed by third parties such as the University of California, AISTS and City of Busan. 

For more in-depth guidance and training , educators can become NASEF-certified General Managers and Coaches through online Academy courses. School districts have also requested custom professional development to establish cohesive programmes that blend competitive play with academic growth.

Education media company Tech & Learning has collaborated with NASEF since 2020. This partnership has produced articles and professional development events that guide educators in implementing esports effectively. 

“NASEF has consistently connected us with innovative esports speakers and experts that provide tactical advice our audience can put into practice,” noted Christine Weiser, Content and Brand Director for Tech & Learning.

Whilst it’s crucial to work alongside educational institutions, it’s equally important to connect with esports organisations and federations. Creating a bridge between the esports and education sectors allows for both sides to gain a deeper understanding of how these two industries can benefit and collaborate. NASEF has developed a methodology to help the field build capacity and create community leading to sustainable impact.     

As such, NASEF is the education partner of both the Global Esports Federation and the International Esports Federation (IESF).

IESF partners with NASEF to equip its 140+ member federations with the tools to build scholastic esports programmes. At events like the World Esports Summit, NASEF leads workshops that help member nations develop initiatives fostering learning, building capacity and providing social and economic impact.

NASEF’s approach also provides growth opportunities for technology companies. Schools and afterschool programmes are investing in upgraded computer labs to support esports and STEAM programmes. Companies that align their business strategies with scholastic esports can benefit from modernising their educational opportunities, attracting digital-savvy audiences, and contributing to future esports talent pipelines.

Gerald Solomon, NASEF’s Executive Director, has frequently discussed the growth of scholastic esports communities. At the recent Global Sources Consumer Tech Conference in Hong Kong, where over 40,000 attendees explored tech innovations, Solomon underscored how NASEF’s initiatives positively impact the industry—from workforce education to corporate ROI.

NASEF’s insights are also valued at major events like the Future of Education Technology Conference (FETC). 

Jennifer Womble, FETC’s Conference Chair, highlighted NASEF’s contributions, including Esports Guides for K-12 administrators and curated content that connects educational leaders with the esports industry. 

“Working with NASEF brings exceptional value to any institution committed to advancing esports in education,” Womble noted.

“NASEF’s partnership with FETC has been invaluable; they have guided the development of Esports Guides tailored for K-12 administrators and curated content sessions and speakers, enriching conference programming and bridging the gap between educational administrators and the burgeoning esports landscape.”

Through global partnerships, practical resources and innovative approaches, NASEF is creating opportunities for students, educators and industry and corporate leaders. 

By blending learning and play, NASEF’s scholastic esports programmes foster essential skills like teamwork, critical thinking, communication, collaboration and problem-solving. Moreover, the organisation aims to provide experience in career areas across the esports ecosystem and beyond. According to NASEF, this comprehensive approach not only supports the growth of the esports industry, but also prepares youth to thrive in an evolving digital landscape.

On August 14th, 2013, game developer Valve introduced aesthetic weapon enhancements that would fundamentally alter their flagship game, Counter-Strike: Global Offensive (CS:GO) forever. The game was released to the public just shy of one year earlier, but this now infamous Arms Deal Update introduced the first collection of 18 weapon skins — unique, purely cosmetic textures which can be equipped in-game — though offering no gameplay benefits.

But they did offer an intangible benefit to the ultra-competitive online tactical shooter.

Swag.

Cosmetic items in games would go on to add rich layers of cultural capital into online gaming writ-large over the next decade, but CS:GO’s unique approach would create a new phenomenon in the industry — and a new opportunity.

A host of new and engaging reward mechanics would stimulate skin’s disbursements among the player base, including a variety of ratings for each skin to maximise the collectible element, that the community would immediately both embrace and love to hate. 

Timed item drops would create a random and purely chance-based system. Players could elect to open new Standard or Esports Weapon Cases (both with unique skin collections) by purchasing the relevant keys in randomized reward experiences.

Ground-breaking at the time, a portion of the Esports Weapon Case Key sales would go to funding prize pools for community CS:GO tournaments, a practice that would go on to become commonplace in esports.

In perhaps the most consequential introduction of the Arms Deal Update, players could trade and purchase skins (or Case Keys) directly from the Steam Community Market, in a now ubiquitous micro-transaction model. This created a virtual economy around CS:GO, in which players would transact via Steam Wallet funds (topping up using real-world currency) and Valve taking 5% of each transaction.

Another game-changing opportunity was nearing the surface, though this would happen completely out-of-game.

The market would dictate the price of items from what players were willing to pay, accounting for the prescribed rarity, community desirability and personal taste — leading some to eventually become highly valuable.

Valve would regularly introduce new themed collections into the game, suites of weapon skins sharing an aesthetic across the game’s dozens of weapon types. Each new collection drop could have a window of availability, allowing players to acquire them organically for a limited amount of time, after that, they would only be available on the Steam Community Market.

Intrepid secondary markets began to immediately emerge to facilitate off-Steam transactions, sidestepping the Steam Wallet ecosystem, for cash.

Skin exchanges would eventually grow into a multi-million-dollar industry, introducing a variety of market dynamics. While the marketplace initially faced challenges such as inconsistent rating systems and unreliable transactions, the industry has since evolved with many platforms adopting transparency and fairness as core principles.

A great portion of the community became immediately and vocally tired of the misleading sites. There had to be a better way. Trust and transparency were the biggest frustrations, not unlike almost any nascent marketplace, but ideas of a better way were already forming.

By the end of the year, the active player count had doubled from the Arms Deal Update in August 2013, sitting at around 100,000. That number would more than triple by August 2014. Over the next five years, the peak concurrent player base would fluctuate until finally breaking 1 million in March 2020.

It was just before this milestone, in mid-2019, that Skin.Club was launched. Born from former pros and lifelong passionate CS-heads believing that fairness, transparency and community-driven innovation were key to unlocking a truly innovative service in the ‘skin game’.

The Skin.Club team believes that skins are a vibrant thread in the historical and cultural fabric of Counter-Strike and its esports communities. Each skin holds a story, a memory of remarkable moments, a symbol of personal achievements, or even a token of loyalty to a favourite team. 

Skins have transcended their functional purpose to become collectibles that embody creativity, identity and the shared spirit of competition.

From this ethos, the site would add a number of unique features over the years, like mirroring the experience of opening Weapon Cases by recreating their own version on the website with uniquely themed case collections. Like Skin.Club-only case collections inspired by currently popular anime like Bleach, One Piece or DanDaDan.

Each case displays every available skin within it and the historical odds of winning each item.

Because the site was born in front of the community, it aimed to stay connected to it beyond delivering a reliable product. Players would have the unique opportunity to contribute ideas, suggest improvements and directly impact how the platform evolves.

The model has proven fruitful. Today, whether through voting on new features, submitting feedback or participating in surveys — Skin.Club embodies a collaborative model ensuring every update introduced reflects the needs and desires of the community, which has grown to be the largest of all skin-devoted platforms.

Beyond pure esthetics, skins drive a unique economy in esports — enabling collaborations, sponsorships and community-driven innovations. One such feature is case battles, turning opening cases into a competitive luck-of-the-draw, winner-takes-all showdowns.

Players take turns ‘pulling’ skins from a case. Each skin and its dollar amount is revealed, with the cumulative total only being revealed at the end of a preset number of rounds. The total value of each player’s ‘drop’ is revealed and the player with the most value wins the whole pot of drawn skins.

For endeavors like Skin.Club, cosmetic items represent more than just a bridge between the technical skill and emotional art of the game’s fanbase. Skins connect players, teams and fans with their unique designs and the memories attached to them. Skins represent passion, value and demand.

Skin.Club’s mission extends far beyond case opening — it’s about supporting teams, entrepreneurs, esports enthusiasts, and the broader esports ecosystem.

By celebrating the artistry and cultural significance of skins, Skin.Club aims to elevate their value — not only as a cornerstone of the player experience but as a timeless emblem of the gaming journey. Skins are a testament to the legacy of Counter-Strike and a crucial element propelling esports into the future.

Discover the future of skin-opening experiences at Skin.Club — where fairness, innovation, and community meet.

Esports data company GRID Esports has announced that it has joined the International Betting Integrity Association (IBIA) as an associate member, the first of its kind in esports.

The partnership will see GRID work with IBIA on esports-related topics such as integrity in esports betting and will help combat integrity breaches and other unlawful practices in esports betting.

The partnership is a major one for GRID, as the company is the first esports-focused associate member of IBIA. Another esports-focused data company, Oddin.gg, has been a regular member of the IBIA since early 2024. IBIA represents more than 50 betting companies worldwide and helps combat betting corruption and other illegal practices. IBIA’s members operate more than 120 sports betting brands.

According to a release, GRID and IBIA will “share information relating to suspicious esports betting and potential match manipulation from their monitoring and intelligence platforms.”

In addition, other IBIA members will be able to access integrity-focused resources created by GRID.

GRID was announced as an approved betting data supplier by IBIA in 2022, and the new development aims to further expand the collaboration between the data company and the non-profit organisation.

Moritz Maurer, CEO of GRID, commented: “Integrity is at the heart of GRID’s mission. By joining IBIA as an Associate Member, we are taking a definitive step toward establishing esports as a trusted and credible industry.

“This partnership enables us to further our efforts in promoting transparency, reducing risks associated with esports betting, and strengthening operational practices across the ecosystem.’’

GRID has recently secured a large, multi-year data deal with tournament organiser BLAST and has appointed former Riot Games executive John Knauss as Executive VP. Earlier in 2024, GRID worked with the Esports World Cup foundation and co-created a Rainbow Six Siege data portal with Ubisoft.

Global esports organisation Gen.G has signed a multi-year partnership with US private research university Syracuse University.

The collaboration aims to bolster student engagement and hands-on learning opportunities in esports by enhancing the university’s esports communications and management bachelor’s programme.

The programme is offered jointly by the Newhouse School of Public Communications and Falk College of Sport and Human Dynamics and is divided into three tracks: Esports Business Management, Esports Communications and Esports Media and Design.

Following the newly-signed partnership, Geng.G’s CEO, Arnold Hur, as well as the company’s Assistant Director of Operations for Education, Yugina Yan, will serve as development advisors to the esports degree.

Moreover, Syracuse students will be offered participation in Gen.G’s recently created Practicum Abroad programme. The three-week initiative brings US students to South Korea for hands-on esports learning experiences, including custom esports programming and mentorship by industry professionals.

Finally, the Syracuse campus will host the Gen.G Campus Takeover event in celebration of the university’s soon-to-be-completed esports hub. In autumn of next year, the free-to-enter conference is dedicated to discussing key issues and emerging trends in esports and gaming. The upcoming takeover will also be the first edition to feature an innovative business case study competition.

Global esports and gaming organisation Gen.G competes in titles such as League of Legends, VALORANT, Rocket League and PUBG. The company was founded in 2017 and has since opened offices in Los Angeles, Seoul and Shanghai. In August, Gen.G announced plans to open an additional hub in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.

This is not the first time Gen.G has been involved with Syracuse University. Last spring, the organisation hosted industry lectures for students at Falk College and a marketing lecture exclusively for Syracuse esports students during the League of Legends World Championships in Berlin.

Similarly, Gen.G has been a key driver of esports education for several years, operating the world’s first fully integrated academic esports programme in Korea with the Gen.G Global Academy. In June, the organisation opened a new building near its headquarters in Seoul to further expand its academy structure.

The Esports World Cup Foundation, the organiser of the Esports World Cup, has announced a multi-year partnership with online chess platform Chess.com.

As a result, Chess will be included in the Esports World Cup 2025 line-up and will have a $1.5m (~£1.18m) tournament. Players will qualify for the event through the Champions Chess Tour (CCT).

In addition, Grandmaster chess player Magnus Carlsen has become an ambassador of the game at the EWC.

Chess, more specifically the digital version of the game made popular by platforms such as Chess.com, is the first announced title to make its debut at the 2025 Esports World Cup in Riyadh.

While not an esports title per se, Chess is growing in popularity as an interesting alternative to ‘classic’ esports games. Chess tournaments are regularly streamed online and see hundreds of thousands of peak viewers.

Interested players will be able to qualify for the 2025 Esports World Cup event through the Champions Chess Tour, a series of events organised by Chess.com. The tournament organiser said that there will be two events in 2025 that will qualify players for the EWC, and the top 12 CCT players will receive invitations.

A last-chance qualifier will also be held for amateur and pro players in Riyadh.

Magnus Carlsen, one of the most-known professional chess players in the scene today, will help promote the tournament. According to a release, Carlsen will “help connect chess with the broader esports community.” Carlsen added that the EWC is an amazing opportunity to showcase chess to a wide group of esports fans.

Ralf Reichert, CEO of the Esports World Cup Foundation, commented: “It’s the perfect example of how games evolve: from boards to screens, the core competition stays the same. Chess’ rich history, global appeal, and thriving competitive scene make it a perfect fit for our mission to unite the world’s most popular games and their passionate communities under one competitive umbrella.

“Partnering with the leading online platform for the game, Chess.com, and appointing the legendary Magnus Carlsen, a true GOAT of the sport, as the game’s ambassador, allows us to not only showcase Chess on a massive stage but also to drive innovation and growth within its already vibrant ecosystem. “

Esports betting solutions provider DATA.BET has announced a partnership with B2B platform Turbo Stars.

As a result of the partnership, DATA.BET will equip Turbo Stars with its complete sportsbook package. This includes integrating DATA.BET’s Odds Feed, MTS (Managed Trading Services), Widgets, Esports Bet Builder and Streaming Videos.

Specifically DATA.BET noted the Odds Feed covers over 60 sports disciplines. Meanwhile, the company’s in-house Widgets and Esports Bet Builder will look to increase Turbo Stars’ user engagement and operator revenue.

Based in Prague, Czech Republic, DATA.BET offers esports content coverage across more than 30 disciplines managed by an in-house trading team.

DATA.BET recently extended an existing partnership deal with data company GRID in 2024. The provider also launched its esports Bet Builder feature for Counter-Strike 2. Notably, DATA.BET was also the headline sponsor of the ESIC Global Esports Summit last year.

In a release, Otto Bonning, Head of Sales at DATA.BET commented on the partnership: “Turbo Stars is a platform that values reliability and flexibility, making them an ideal partner,” said. “With our comprehensive sportsbook solution, we are confident this collaboration will help the platform and its partners achieve outstanding results.”

Turbo Stars is a B2B solutions provider in the iGaming industry. The company offers integrated sportsbook solutions, including customisable sportsbook software, instant games and more for businesses in the iGaming space.

Betting has been prevalent within esports for quite some time now, with various teams securing betting sponsorships and some iGaming companies even launching esports tournaments. In 2024, Riot Games also revealed that it would allow its partnered esports teams to have betting sponsors starting next year.

Serbia-based esports tournament organiser FISSURE has announced a major rebranding which includes changes to its logo and visual identity.

FISSURE’s new visual brand is the result of internal discussions as well as several experimental broadcasts and related audience feedback.

According to a release, FISSURE’s rebrand aims to focus on elevating communication with its viewers, enhancing its broadcast content and improving community building.

The organisation explained the choice for its updated logo: “When it came to a new logo we wanted the style to be light, modern and notable. We also would like to have several options for different formats.

“Thus it happened: a clear, dynamic and versatile logo with a styled letter ‘F’. It looks equally cool as a part of a word and as a single symbol, still recognizable in any digital medium.”

Furthermore, the chosen logo aims to represent FISSURE’s key values: moving, striving forward and a breakthrough. The company selected lime green as an energising pop of colour with beige and brown tones as balancing shades for its colour palette.

Tournament operator and esports broadcasting studio FISSURE was founded in 2022 with headquarters in Belgrade, Serbia. Specialising in Counter-Strike (CS), Dota 2 and Mobile Legends: Bang Bang (MLBB) content production, the organisation has covered top international competitions in Russian, including the Esports World Cup and The International 2022.

Moreover, FISSURE has organised more than 15 tournaments across four disciplines, such as the BetBoom Dacha Dota 2 event in collaboration with bookmaker BetBoom. For 2025, FISSURE has already revealed two CS2 LAN tournaments with a $1m (~£953,000) and $1.25m (~£1.19m) prize pool, respectively.