ONE Championship today (7 November) announced the launch of ONE eSports, dubbing it Asia’s largest global eSports championship series.
This is a joint venture together with Dentsu Inc., Japan’s largest global advertising agency, that will begin in 2019.
Notable industry players like Razer and Singtel, among others, have also entered the partnership.
According to the press release, ONE Championship is planning to invest up to US$50 million alongside other key partners into ONE eSports which will feature multiple blockbuster game titles and hold eSports events across Asia.
The gaming events, happening in select cities, will leverage on ONE Championship’s 2019 master event schedule that sees 30 martial arts events taking place across major Asian cities including Singapore, Bangkok, Tokyo, Seoul, Kuala Lumpur, and more.
ONE eSports will produce and broadcast eSports content in the form of live event broadcasts, documentaries, reality shows, weekly magazine shows, highlights, and video blogs across its platform that’s present in 138 countries.
Mixed martial arts ONE Championship athlete Demetrious “Mighty Mouse” Johnson, who is a lifelong gamer and well-known Twitch streamer, will help to lead the ONE eSports efforts as the Chief Brand Ambassador.
Dentsu is the dedicated marketing partner of the Japan eSports Union (JeSU) and through ONE eSports, will be responsible for helping Japanese game developers expand in the industry across Asia.
As the preferred marketing agencies, Dentsu and Dentsu Aegis will also help to support ONE eSports’ endeavours to hold events in Japan and formulate strategic marketing tactics and source for sponsorships around the world.
On Razer’s role to play in this partnership, it will lend its expertise and leadership as a pioneer in the eSports industry to develop, manage, and organise eSports tournaments and series under ONE eSports.
Razer Pay will serve as the payment platform for ONE eSports tournaments and its online sale of related merchandise and content.
Team Razer eSports and ONE Championship athletes will be engaged in joint marketing opportunities to drive communication and interaction to all martial arts fans and gamers across the region.
As for Singtel, which has a mobile customer base of over 700 million across Singapore, Australia, Indonesia, Thailand, Philippines, and India, will possibly include joint eSports marketing efforts, content production and distribution through its platforms.
The statement added that this is an extension of ONE Championship’s ongoing collaboration with the Singtel Group in mixed martial arts events.
Chairman and CEO of ONE Championship, Chatri Sityodtong said, “We see a natural crossover between martial arts and gaming fans in Asia and an opportunity to bring them together under Asia’s home of millennial live sports.”
“Our mission is to celebrate Asia’s eSports heroes on the global stage. The establishment of ONE eSports transforms ONE Championship into Asia’s largest producer of millennial sports content.”
Consumers can expect the same quality of content and event production and capabilities present in ONE Championship events, in ONE eSports, he assured.
Min-Liang Tan, Co-Founder and CEO of Razer, stated, “Like Razer, ONE Championship is at the forefront of a new digital entertainment revolution that delivers the sporting content that millennials hunger for, whether online or offline.”
“This partnership will see us combining our respective areas of expertise and deliver unmatched cross-boundary experiences to our fans.”
CEO International of Singtel, Arthur Lang expressed satisfaction in their current working relationship with ONE Championship “since the joint launch of its app in May this year”, adding that they are “pleased to take this collaboration into eSports”.
“With the success of our PVP Esports Championship in October, we look to further engage with the gaming community through this partnership and increase our involvement in eSports,” he said.
Featured Image Credit: Game Reactor, ONE Championship
