Intel and ESL announce $100m esports investment
Longest-running partnership in sector extended to 2021
Intel and the ESL this week announced plans to invest more than $100 million into the esports industry, formally extending their partnership into 2021.
The deal will drive growth in new global regions, including hosting and large scale esports events within certain Asia-Pacific countries.
After 18 years, the partnership is the longest standing in all of esports, running some of the largest global circuit tournaments, including an uninterrupted series of 73 different Intel Extreme Masters events.
"ESL and Intel have worked side by side on growing esports for nearly two decades," said Ralf Reichert, ESL founder and co-CEO.
"We built a number of cornerstones of this industry together and helped many gamers in becoming legends of the sport. The long-term extended partnership with Intel opens even more opportunities for us to take our efforts to a whole different level on a global scale."
Intel will continue to support the ESL events as its global technical partner.
"This joint investment with ESL into the ecosystem means that the esports growth and innovation that we've led over the past two decades will continue," said John Bonini, vice president and general manager of VR, gaming and esports at Intel.
"This partnership will advance the rapid evolution of esports, and Intel is committed to ushering in this new era with technology solutions that place the gaming community and fans first."