ESL cuts ties with YouPorn sponsored eSports team

An eSports team sponsored by the online pornography portal YouPorn has been cut adrift by ESL, the biggest eSports organisation in the world.

The fact that the YouPorn sponsored team was already known as just "Team YP" is an indication of the potential problems its close association with pornography could stir up. Now, ESL has decided to cut ties to Team YP altogether, citing legal difficulties in several key territories for eSports events and broadcasting.

"Advertising pornography is not legal in the markets we operate in, and the vast majority of partners we're working with have strict 'no drugs, no alcohol, no pornography' rules that we've contractually taken on board," the ESL's statement read, as reported by Polygon. "These aren't new rules, but ones that have been in our rulebooks for a long time.

"We spoke to the manager of Team YP earlier this year and in that conversation we explained the situation and rules in detail, and offered to look for potential alternatives in a bigger group. At the same time, we are consulting with our legal teams about this. We will inform the team and the management as soon as we have any updates."

According to Venturebeat, which claims to have "email correspondence" between the two entities, Team YP offered to, "rebrand in a way that did not refer to YouPorn or even 'YP' in any way," but ESL was unmoved. The stance is now against any team that accepts sponsorship from a company like YouPorn.