april 16, 2020 - BMW Motorsport

“United in Rivalry” – BMW teams up with world’s leading esports teams

• Partnership with five of the world’s leading teams under the mottoes “United in Rivalry” and “United at Home”. • Multidimensional involvement in top-level gaming • Promoting the discipline through technology transfer; use of BMW knowledge and expertise • Team vehicles include unique liveries designed jointly by BMW and the teams

All team and event assets were produced before the Covid-19 outbreak.

Munich. The BMW brand is currently engaged in a major expansion of its involvement in the world of computer, online and simulation games (eSports), a field that’s been continuously growing in popularity, especially among the next-generation target group. As far back as 2017, BMW first attracted attention in the world of virtual sports as the official partner of the European League of Legends finals in Paris. And by 2019 and the successful SIM #racing season concluded by the BMW SIM LIVE premiere at BMW Welt in Munich, BMW had firmly moved into being a major player in #eSports. But above all, the BMW brand now supports some of the most influential and successful #eSports teams and strives to promote the #eSports discipline as a whole.

The #eSports sector has maintained stellar growth rates for years. More and more gamers from a wide variety of countries compete online in both sports and non-sports simulations – as well as in popular offline events held all over the globe.

“Esports shows us how sports entertainment can continue to thrive and play a key role considering today’s challenges. Our entry into #eSports is motivated by a commitment to become a sustainable, global partner, supporting the teams and the discipline as a whole, before, during and after these times of uncertainty,” says Jens Thiemer, Senior Vice President Customer and Brand BMW. “Joining forces with the best teams in the world, we aim to use our design and innovation skills to help shape the discipline in the long term. Our #eSports involvement is an important milestone providing, for the first time, a new intersectionality with a dynamic and fast-growing community. We consider #eSports a promising, growing addition to our marketing activities, helping BMW on its journey to becoming an emotive brand people relate to.”

BMW partners five of the most successful #eSports teams.
To firmly establish itself as a new major player in #eSports, BMW will from now on partner five of the world’s top #eSports organisations. Cloud 9 (US), Fnatic (UK), Funplus Phoenix (China), G2 #eSports (Germany) and T1 (South Korea) each comprise up to 200 players battling it out above all in the incomparable League of Legends. Launched in late 2009, this fantasy multi-player game is without doubt the most popular and influential online game around, with a daily total of up to eight million players from all over the world logged in concurrently. To innumerable fans, League of Legends (LoL) is the premier #eSports category. Last year’s LoL World Championship Finals in the AccorHotels Arena in Paris attracted an online audience of approx. 44 million fans worldwide viewing the live stream at home. On top of that, there are also other disciplines such as Dota 2, FIFA, Fortnite or Rocket League that the teams compete in all over the world, in tournaments of comparable size that will also be supported and promoted by BMW. The BMW brand will not only act as a strong sponsor for these top teams but also as a powerful partner to introduce the #eSports discipline to an even wider audience. “Our long-term goal is to grow our team portfolio into true household names within the general sports and entertainment industry,” says Jens Thiemer.