RLCS 2024 Major 1, VCT 2024 Madrid Masters, PGL Copenhagen Major — Sponsorship Overview

Loading

Esports community was closely following three major tournaments in three different esports titles at the end of March: Denmark hosted the PGL Major Copenhagen 2024 (Counter-Strike) and RLCS 2024 – Major 1 (Rocket League), while the capital of Spain became the host city of VCT 2024: Masters Madrid (Valorant). Alongside traditional viewer statistics tracking, Esports Charts also analyzed which brands and companies collaborated with these events.

The VCT 2024: Masters Madrid emerged as the leader in terms of the number of represented brands, with eight different companies being promoted. Interestingly, many of these companies also sponsor regional leagues in League of Legends, such as LCK and LEC, including HyperX, Mastercard, OMEN, Red Bull, and Secretlab.

Six brands were represented at the PGL Copenhagen Major 2024. Unlike Riot Games, Valve allows tournament operators to collaborate with brands from gambling, so one of the sponsors of the Counter-Strike major was the company 1xBET. Oddin.gg, a service catering to bookmakers, falls into the same category. It was also interesting to see Displate among the tournament partners, a Polish manufacturer of metal posters: the company was actively advertised during LEC broadcasts, but we did not see it at the VCT 2024: Masters Madrid.

Only two brands were advertised at the RLCS 2024 – Major 1: banking holding Ally Financial and motor oil brand Mobil 1. It's noteworthy that the event did not feature advertisements from the usual industry sponsors like computer hardware manufacturers, gaming devices, energy drinks, etc. There were no automotive brands among the major sponsors, although they have appeared as partners at tournaments in other esports games.

Looking at the categorization of sponsors for these tournaments, it's evident that the Computers and Peripherals sector remains at the forefront in terms of the number of represented brands. This sector features the most endemic brands in the industry, making them easily promotable to the target audience.

The Betting & Gambling category is also quite popular in esports, especially in tournaments for Valve games. Riot Games currently maintains a stricter policy regarding sponsors, although according to The Esports Advocate, they may soon relax these restrictions significantly.