The following is based on T1's press release sent to Inven Global.

SK Telecom’s esports brand T1 has signed a sponsor partnership contract with the BMW group on the 16th. This is the first sponsorship that BMW signed with a Korean sports team.

T1 is a brand specializing in esports established with Comcast last year. They run several teams including League of Legends, Fortnite, etc. T1 is also one of the most popular esports teams around the world, having about 50 pro players including the living legend, Lee “Faker” Sang-hyeok.

Through this partnership, T1 and BMW will be having joint marketing towards the world. BMW will be supporting the newest vehicles to T1 players such as BMWX7 and the BMW logo will be placed on T1’s jerseys. They will also collaborate in offline events and online marketing as well.

BMW will utilize their design and innovative technology to develop hardware and software products for T1 players and to support developing the esports industry in the long run. T1 will provide esports players’ action data, who has great dynamic visual activity and reflexes, along with 5G-AI-based technology for joint research.

This year within four months, T1 has signed sponsor partnerships with about ten corporations and brands such as BMW, Nike, Logitech G, Klevv, ONE store, etc. Through this, within four months, they’ve already surpassed five times their sales of last year already. After T1 transitioned to an esports-specialized brand, requests for partnership from global corporations increased and the sales increased accordingly.

The world’s esports industry is expected to grow to approximately $1.1B, 16% higher than last year, and the viewers to about 5 billion. As a brand with global popularity, reputation, proper system, and a great business model, T1 will also grow rapidly.

T1 CEO Joe Marsh said, “Together with some of the most elite global esports organisations, T1 is thrilled to partner with BMW to elevate innovation and entertainment in the gaming industry. Faker and the entire T1 family are excited to create content, products, and programmes with the BMW team that showcase our shared values of competitiveness and premier performance for esports fans and enthusiasts around the world.”

Jens Thiemer Senior Vice President Customer and Brand BMW said, “Joining forces with the best teams in the world, we aim to use our design and innovation skills to help shape the discipline in the long term. Our esports involvement is an important milestone providing, for the first time, a new intersectionality with a dynamic and fast-growing community. We consider esports a promising, growing addition to our marketing activities, helping BMW on its journey to becoming an emotive brand people relate to.”

Image source: T1