Adelaide Crows Bolster Esports Operations With Two New Deals

The Adelaide Crows professional esports team, Legacy Esports, and the AFL club’s nationwide league for school students, META High School Esports, have both secured major deals within the last week.

Optus has signed a long-term deal with Legacy Esports that will see the telecommunications giants logo feature on the team’s jersey, whilst also supporting the creation of unique and engaging content for the franchise’s digital platform.

Crows Chief Operating Officer, Nigel Smart, who oversees the esports operations, described the announcement as a significant partnership for Legacy Esports.

“It is not just an important announcement for our organisation but also the industry more broadly in this country, and it will help to underpin the rapid growth of our esports activities,” Smart said.

Meanwhile, the AFL clubs META High School Esports has won Intel and Acer as major sponsors of its regional esports league.

The league was launched in 2018 and is currently in the midst of its second season, with the end of year finals set to take place at the Melbourne Esports Open.

“Australia and New Zealand’s esports industry is in the middle of a boom period,” Stanthosh Viswanathan, Intel’s Managing Director of Sales and Marketing for Asia Pacific and Japan, said in a press statement.

“It’s a scene filled with so much enthusiasm and we’re proud to be supporting its growth across the region with this sponsorship.”

META claims close to 2,000 students are involved with the league across Australia and New Zealand, with tournaments across three games – League of Legends, Rocket League, and NBA 2K19.

Commenting on Intel and Acer’s deal with META, Nigel Smart said the sponsorship will help META develop its online tournament platform as well as expand its efforts to include training camps and host more LAN event opportunities around the country to give students more exposure to elite styles of play.

“Australia is growing as an important player on the global stage,” Smart said.

“Increased support for our next generation of esports stars will help Australia and New Zealand continue to thrive in esports.”

“It’s great to have brands like Acer and Intel involved because they are involved globally with esports and can give you insights and huge benefits in terms of what they’re seeing and how to support what we’re building here.”