SK Gaming is one out of the few Western esports orgs that bet on mobile esports early on. To further strengthen their commitment, SK has signed a partnership with Chinese company Huawei, one of the largest telecommunication equipment manufacturers in the world.
Since November 2015, SK has had a dedicated mobile division and competes in Super Evil Megacorp’s mobile MOBA Vainglory. What was missing until today, however, was a sponsor that fits the mobile esports niche.
Huawei is that sponsor. Its sub-brand, Honor, is targeted at digital natives, which, in turn, is a demographic SK has access to. That’s why SK managing director Alexander Müller is convinced the organization has found “an excellent partner for our mobile division.”
While SK surely is the bigger fish, it’s not Honor’s first esports move. It became title sponsor to Polish esports organization Illuminar Gaming, on Jan. 13, 2016. Illuminar’s League of Legends team even made it to the final of the 2016 EUCS Spring Qualifiers, where it lost to Team Huma and ultimately vanished.
It’s safe to assume that the partnership itself is on a lower scale than, say, SK’s juggernaut deal with VISA. Nonetheless, it’s good to see that Huawei didn’t bale out of esports sponsorships after its failure with Illuminar Gaming.
For SK, it’s a clear demonstration that it’s not going to leave mobile esports anytime soon.
