Marvel Entertainment has just announced a two-year sponsorship of Chiefs Esports Club, an Australia-based esports organization. The partnership will be focused on business within Australia and New Zealand. Details on how Marvel characters and iconography might manifest in Chief Esports' projects are sparse as of now, beyond a promise of the integration of Marvel properties into "activations" by the esports organization.
The CEO of Chief Esports Club, Nick Bobir, discussed the sponsorship in a press release, highlighting the historic nature of the sponsorship for the Oceania region. Marvel is about as big of a name as there is in the entertainment world, so the inclusion of its name among the organization's sponsors will surely draw some fresh eyes to them and their teams' events. Bobir also promised to continue to raise the bar for esports in Australia and New Zealand following their new business deal.
Last year, Marvel also announced a partnership with Team Liquid, which so far has manifested as a series of jerseys and other merch items inspired by classic Marvel characters. Captain America-inspired jerseys were even worn competitively by Team Liquid's League of Legends team during 2019's Rift Rivals: North America vs Europe tournament. Team Liquid, which competes in the North American League of Legends league, was among three North American teams at the tournament, so the Captain America iconography represented their region, too.
Other Team Liquid x Marvel merch items included designs from Spider-Man and Iron Man, as well as a jersey emulating the time travel suits worn by the Avengers in Avengers: Endgame, which was released around the time of the collaboration. Since there isn't an Australian Marvel hero with the same level of recognition as those seen on Team Liquid's merchandise, Marvel may take a different route than it did for its jersey collaboration with Team Liquid, or else simply pull out some deeper cuts.
Marvel now joins co-partners Red Bull, LogitechG, and Boost Mobile Australia, among others, who also sponsor Chief Esports. Their League of Legends team is a four time champion of the League of Legends Oceanic Pro League; the organization also includes teams in competitive Counter-Strike, Fortnite, Rocket League, and Street Fighter V.
Source: Esports Insider