Esports organisation Riot Games has signed up premium car brand Mercedes-Benz as the latest sponsor for its League of Legends series.
The global deal will see Mercedes-Benz sponsor League of Legends events, such as the World Championship, the Mid-Season Invitational and the All-Star Event.
The sponsorship will begin with the 2020 World Championship, where the brand will become the first ever sponsor of the trophy ceremony.
Alongside global payment specialists Mastercard, it will be one of two brands to be granted visibility at the tournament’s opening ceremony.
As part of the deal’s activation, Riot’s newly-available in-game banner advertising will be utilised for the series.
The deal builds on a previous regional association between the two organisations which saw Mercedes-Benz sponsor the League of Legends Pro League since 2018.
Bettina Fetzer, vice president of marketing at Mercedes-Benz, said: “We’ve been engaged with League of Legends on a regional level over the past few years, but we really felt that it was time to expand into the next level and engage with an even broader audience and support a community we’ve come to call family.”
For Riot Games, the agreement represents another addition to its portfolio of global sponsors for its League of Legends series: technology specialists Cisco, music streaming service Spotify, and electronics brand Bose represent other recent signings.
The 2020 League of Legends World Championship will begin on September 25 and runs until October 31.