【1999 Archives】

Pro gaming fans999 Archives start your engines. Audi is getting into esports, and more big name brands could follow in 2017.

Professional Counter-Strike: Global Offensive team Astralis has landed a sponsorship with the German automaker, the team announced on their Twitter account this morning.

The deal comes just days before Astralis is set to play in one of the biggest tournaments of the year: the ELEAGUE Major in Atlanta, Georgia. The team unveiled their new team jerseys, freshly embroidered with Audi’s recognizable four-ring logo, at the event’s photoshoot just a few hours after the announcement.

“The upcoming Major is the perfect place to start our partnership,” said Jordi Roig, Chief Commercial Officer at RFRSH Entertainment, which brokered the deal on behalf of Astralis. “We are proud to be working with an absolute top-class global mega-brand and we look forward to see what the future will bring.”

Mashable Top Stories Stay connected with the hottest stories of the day and the latest entertainment news. Sign up for Mashable's Top Stories newsletter By clicking Sign Me Up, you confirm you are 16+ and agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. Thanks for signing up!

Original image has been replaced. Credit: Mashable

Audi dabbled in gaming when it sponsored a ‘24 Hours of Le Forza’ live streamevent in June. But this partnership marks the company’s first big investment in esports, an industry that has seen a surge of mainstream attention in the last year.

“It is a very interesting area with huge and strong demographics,” said Christian Weiglin Thorn, Head of Marketing at Audi. “Looking into the numbers, we saw that there actually is a substantial number of mature people within the esports audience.”

This sponsorship is particularly significant, both for Astralis and for esports in general. Few non-endemic companies have embraced esports in their marketing budgets, and even fewer have directly sponsored teams or players. Most of the mainstream brands associated with gaming and esports stem from the computer, food and beverage and communications industries.

The entrance of a major automaker onto the scene could pave the way for other big name sponsors, which have traditionally been skittish about esports, despite growing engagement from a key demographic.

The increasing maturity of the industry, coupled with a rise in televised coverage, including Turner’s ELEAGUE, could result in more outside brands feeling comfortable enough to follow Audi’s lead.

---

Featured Video For You

---

These sports VIPs own pro gaming teams

---

Topics Esports Gaming

• Digital Culture
• Social Good
• Science
• Deals
• Games
• Shopping
• Entertainment
• Life

• Amazon CEO tries to sell kids on working on the moon
• Nigel Farage's potential successor in serious condition after 'altercation'
• High School student's costume called out cultural appropriation
• Devastating photos from Hurricane Matthew's aftermath in Haiti
• They met on Tumblr, and their relationship outlasted their accounts
• A giant Putin poster randomly showed up on New York's Manhattan Bridge
• Hillary Clinton weighs in on the Kim Kardashian robbery
• NFL to fine teams up to $100,000 for posting social media video during games
• China just built the world's biggest floating solar project
• Watch Melissa Etheridge sing a ditty about Brangelina's divorce

• See You There: The Paris Review at the Strand, Tonight! by The Paris Review
• Marilyn’s Books, Hemingway’s Vacation by Sadie Stein
• The Flanders Duck by Cody Upton
• October Surprise; or, How to Follow a Perfect Season by James Santel
• Object Lesson: Kings by The Paris Review
• Literary Stockings, Keats’s Addiction by Sadie Stein
• Kids Are All Right, Like E
• The Modern Monastery: Pussy Riot in Prison by Casey N. Cep
• What We’re Loving: Bourbon, Poetry, and Mead by Sadie Stein
• Is Nothing Sacred? The Brontë Chapel Is Sacked by Sadie Stein

• Apple's newest ad makes a haunting plea to take climate change seriously
• Mediocre mystery derails 'The Girl on the Train,' which is no 'Gone Girl'
• Shakespeare plays reimagined with furry animals are a thing to behold
• Brawl over a reclining chair could see pair banned from flying for life
• Use Your Gaming Laptop and Play On Battery Power? Is It Possible?
• First grader makes astute observation upon meeting Donald Trump
• Woman's self
• Hurricane Matthew is about to slam Donald Trump's most prized real estate
• Golden State Warriors vs. Los Angeles Lakers 2025 livestream: Watch NBA online
• One man was charged $40 to hold his newborn baby

• NYT Connections Sports Edition hints and answers for February 15: Tips to solve Connections #145
• Facebook just made Oculus Rift way more affordable
• No hurricane will ever convince people to buy clam chowder
• Facebook just made Oculus Rift way more affordable
• Getting Started with Gmail Keyboard Shortcuts
• It's fall, so we contoured our faces and went bobbing for apples
• 6 things we learned about American magical government from J.K. Rowling's new Pottermore story
• This French Instagram profile is not what you think it is
• Best free gift card deal: Get $10 Best Buy gift card with $100 Apple gift card
• Stunning animated game helps teach endangered Aboriginal language