Hunter C. May 23, 2019
According to multiple reports, insurance company State Farm has re-signed an expanded sponsorship deal with Riot Games, one that will take the partnership international.
The deal will now also extend through 2021.
The renewed partnership will expand the events that State Farm will be present at, including the LCS, the 2019 League of Legends World Championships, and the League of Legends College Championships. State Farm began its partnership with Riot in 2018.
State Farm has deals with some of the biggest traditional sports leagues in the world, including the NFL and the NBA.
The swift re-signing of State Farm only solidifies Riot’s grasp at the top levels of the esports marketplace. Riot, and by extension League of Legends, have firmly maintained its grasp at the top of viewership charts despite newer games like Fortnite rapidly attracting a younger audience.
League of Legends also has a major sponsorship deal in place with MasterCard.
“This sponsorship has been extended earlier than anticipated as we are both eager to expand and build on our many fan-centric activities up through the 2021 League of Legends World Championships taking place in North America,” Naz Aletaha, head of Riot Games esports partnerships, said.
League of Legends may be an older game, but it’s still seeing growth. The most recent tournament, the 2019 Midseason Invitational, saw massive amounts of viewership. This included a staggering 1.7 million viewer peak during the semifinal match between G2 Esports and SK Telecom T1.
G2 would go on to win the tournament in a 3-0 finals sweep over North American entrant Team Liquid. The event gained a grand total of 30 million plus views across all languages on Twitch.
The 2019 iteration of MSI was a colossal success. League of Legends saw huge viewership numbers through the tournament, which despite its lackluster finish saw some big upsets and high quality games. The future of League of Legends is definitely bright, and companies like State Farm are agreeing with their sponsorship dollars.