If it was not obvious from their initial two sponsorship deals with major players in the Esports sphere, the third may be enough to inform everyone about the plans ahead.
Stake, the leading global online casino and sports betting platform, has just revealed another partnership that trusts them even deeper into the ever-changing and growing industry that is video games. On October 16, Stake expanded its presence when it agreed on a long-term collaboration with a major Esports event, the Champion of Champions Tour (CCT). After agreeing on terms with a professional gaming team and a leading streaming platform, this new agreement solidifies them as the betting partner in Esports.
So what are the details of this amazing development for both sides and what will change? Moreover, how does it deepen Stake’s involvement in gaming and streaming and what does this industry have now that it did not have before? To these and many other questions, we give answers in the following article. If you are a fan of online casino betting as well as video games and Esports, these latest developments where the two industries are joining together through sponsorships are exactly what you want. Read on to learn more as we explore what Stake.com eSports can bring to the market and why it is important that they are now working together.
What Is the Agreement About?
So what is this new sponsorship really about and what makes it so important for both industries? Through this deal, Stake has become the exclusive betting partner for the English broadcast of CCT. This means that everyone who is watching the upcoming tournament in the English language will get to see the betting platform’s logo as well as promotions. Through this, new betting enthusiasts can check out the platform and realise what they are trying to do: connect two industries that have so much in common and that can create something wonderful together in the future. CCT is organized by GRID, a data platform, and the sponsorship is the third overall for Stake when it comes to video games, streaming, gaming, Esports, or whatever you want to call it.
The deal solidifies Stake’s commitment and support to the future of Esports which is already so big. For CCT, it enhances the global visibility of the whole event due to the millions of fans and players that the betting platform has. Since the fans of competitive gaming are so passionate and already like to wager on their favorite teams, Stake has a unique new chance to connect with this audience and provide them with new content across many other events in the industry. The company was first a pioneer in the modern online gambling industry. Now, they are pioneering again and leading the way for sports betting and casino gambling to be part of the biggest branch of entertainment, video games.
The thriving world of Esports betting should be connected with sports betting as it is almost as competitive as actual sports. Gamers are called athletes, they are professionals who make a living from their craft, and there are millions of dollars in prize pools. All of this is true for any other sport so why not equate gaming with other sports in terms of wagering? Stake already has partnerships with representatives from F1, UFC, football, and other sports. It makes perfect sense for both sides to make this deal as the Champion of Champions Tour is one of the biggest events for gamers.
Chief Marketing Officer of Stake, Akhil Sarin, said that they “are thrilled to expand [their] partnership portfolio into the ever-evolving world of esports, and the Champion of Champions Tour is the perfect stage for this next step.” He added that the “collaboration will allow [them] to engage with a dynamic, tech-savvy audience, while also supporting the growth of the global esports ecosystem.” On the other hand, the Chief Sales Officer at GRID, Mikael Westerling, revealed about the deal that they too “are delighted to welcome Stake as a global sponsor for the Champion of Champions Tour,” adding that their “reputation for innovation, support of traditional sports, and entertainment makes them a perfect partner for the CCT.”
What is the Champion of Champions Tour?
Now in its second edition, the CCT is a large-scale Counter-Strike 2 and Dota 2 event organised by GRID in cooperation with Eden Esports. It is one of the most prestigious gaming tournaments right now, especially because it revolves around such a popular game as CS and Dota. The total prize pool is $1.5 million and it ends with a major LAN final, this time scheduled for early 2025. In the first tournament, the Turkish professional team Eternal Fire came out on top and is the current defending champion. In May of 2024, they beat Team Liquid to take the Global Finals. This time around, the event is looking to be even bigger and more exclusive with heavier competition and a larger audience.
CCT was launched in 2022 as a tournament circuit. It spans several regions worldwide and brings together professional gamers from all over. The unique thing about it is that it runs entirely on the data platform infrastructure provided and designed by GRID. According to them, their mission is to make a sustainable, competitive scene for emerging regional Esports talent whose desire is to prove themselves and compete against the best of the best. As of this writing, they have more than 104 million live views, 15.6 million hours watched, a total prize pool of USD 2.9$ million paid, and 449 teams participating in its regionals.
What is GRID?
Now that we talked more about the sponsorship and mentioned the organisers of the event, let us tell you something more about them. GRID is a title-agnostic data platform that specializes in video game and Esports data and tech. They come up with deployable in-game data infrastructures that are easily usable and integrable. The distribution network that they offer the game publishers is robust and they have collaborated with some of the biggest names in the field like Riot Games (League of Legends, Valorant) and Ubisoft (Rainbow Six: Siege, Assassin’s Creed).
On top of all this, the company offers access to streaming, data, betting, media, and other data-powered products that pro teams make use of. The technology they use is cutting-edge and they have unique expertise that can unlock new potential for everyone involved. There is nobody else on the market quite like them, similar to how Stake is the only gambling and betting platform that does what it does. Similar minds think alike, and companies that are innovating and reshaping their respective industries should collaborate and pave the way forward together.
Stake’s Other Major Esports Partnerships
Continuously searching for new ways to grow and innovate, Stake has always looked for the next big partner they could help, as well as who can help them. From its founding in 2017, it managed to become the world’s leading brand in betting on the Internet with over 30 billion bets every year. They also hold more than 4% of total global Bitcoin transactions through their casino and sportsbook. Before they entered the Esports business, they had first established themselves in traditional sports and entertainment with deals and sponsorships with superstar rapper Drake, the Stake Formula 1 team, the Everton football club, UFC Starts, and more.
Once they let everyone know where they stand in sports, it was time to enter video games and streaming and eventually get into Esports. Before CCT, they made deals with the online video game streaming platform Kick as well as the professional competitive gaming organisation Team Secret. Now that they added an event to their lineup of sponsors right next to a streaming platform and a pro team, it is more than evident where they want to take their business in the next several years. Will they be able to do it? With such smart sponsorship deals and the general direction they are obviously taking, it is safe to say that they are on the right track.
With Kick, Stake now has a chance to appear on live streams and expand the viewers’ horizons by introducing them to Esports betting on their platform. Watching your favorite streamers play your favorite games is one thing. Having a chance to wager on Stake on the outcome of some of the biggest events while watching them on Kick is an amazing combination. Add Team Secret and all of the success they have had in the past and you get an experience like no other. The best of all? Stake.com is ever-present through it all. Technically, you could watch Team Secret (sponsored by Stake) on a Kick (sponsored by Stake) livestream while they play in the CCT (sponsored by Stake). Nobody else in the industry has this!
About Kick and Team Secret
Kick.com is one of the leading live streaming services on the internet right now and a major player in the overall video gaming industry. It is operated by Kick Streaming Pty Ltd and is backed up by none other than Stake.com co-founders Bijan Tehrani and Ed Craven, as well as one of the most popular streamers ever Trainwreckstv. Founded in 2022, it was established on the market as a competitor to Twitch, the Amazon-owned streaming platform that has had the monopoly for years. Kick has a much looser moderation policy and allows the streamer to keep 95% of their revenue, compared to the 50% that Twitch gives them. This was initially enough of a difference for many to switch over and only stream their gameplay on Kick. Right now, they have major deals and sponsorships with some of the biggest names in streaming like xQc, Ice Poseidon, Tfue Amouranth, Vitaly Zdoroverskiy, and Nickmercs. As of the summer of 2023, the platform averages around 235,000 live streams per day.
Wearing the Stake.com logo on their official team shirts right now is Team Secret, a veteran Esports organization that has dominated numerous games and continues to achieve great results across the industry. Most of their success has come in games like Rainbow Six Siege, League of Legends, Valorant, and Dota 2. Their founder is the Dota 2 legend Clement “Puppey” Ivanov and he has taken the team to the heights they managed to reach. As a dominant team, it makes sense that they partnered up with Stake. As both sides claim, this is now much more than a business endeavor and a partnership. The two partners share values and respect for the scene as well as the community and want nothing but the best for the viewers and bettors. It is only the beginning as they have high hopes and big plans for this already fruitful collaboration.
What Esports to Bet on Stake.com?
So what are some of the games and events you can wager on with the Stake online betting platform? Well, there are the usuals like Dota 2, Counter-Strike 2, and League of Legends, but also many other games. Arena of Valor and eCricket are also available, and so is FIFA, now known as EA FC. If you are a fan of sports simulations, NBA2K and Rocket League are also there to place some bets on and enjoy the gameplay more than you would otherwise. Of course, classics are also there such as Warcraft 3 and both Starcraft 1 and 2. And what would a video game betting platform be like without Valorant?
Betting on video games is often much more intricate and niche than traditional sports because of the sheer amount of bets to make. Sure, you can pick the outright winner of the match, but there are also a whole slew of other options. Who makes the first kill? Which team gets to choose the map? What weapons will be played? Which player will have the most or least kills? The least goes ever on and there are also plenty of live betting choices to pick through. If we had to give you one advice, it would be to stick with the games you yourself play and know. It is the best way to start because you know what it takes to be good at it and how things can change through the match.
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