League of Legends team Unicorns of Love signed with Lagardère Sports, the sports arm of Lagardère’s media empire, in January. The media company is now expanding with a strategic partnership with European League team Team ROCCAT.
Just months after its first investment in esports, Lagardère is looking to position itself as a leader in the European esports market.
As with its Unicorns of Love partnership, Lagardère Sports will aid in the continued success of the team, preparing sponsorship opportunities and assisting in marketing campaigns.
“The character of ROCCAT in the gaming world is unique,” Robert Müller, managing director of Lagardère Sports Germany, said in a translated statement. “Both the close ties of the fans to Team ROCCAT, as well as the company ROCCAT, open up numerous possibilities and new ways of sponsorship activation.”
ROCCAT appears to be struggling in the League 2017 Spring Split, currently sitting at fourth in its group with a 4-7 record. The organization, however, has seen previous success in other esports titles, like Counter-Strike and StarCraft 2.
Non-endemic partnerships continue to reveal esports growth potential across the world. Earlier this week, esports organization Cloud9 revealed it had secured “at least several million dollars” in investment from a group of prominent sports investors.
Daniel Fiden of FunPlus Ventures, San Francisco Giants outfielder Hunter Pence, Tesla board members Antonio Gracias and Kimbal Musk, Reddit co-founder Alexis Ohanian, LA Dodgers co-owner Todd Boehly, San Francisco 49ers Hall of Famer Joe Montana, NBA center Andrew Bogut, and Golden State Warriors co-owner Chamath Palihapitiya are among the names involved in the investment.
