Esports betting is becoming a major trend in the online gaming market. Over the course of the past few years, we have seen more and more online sportsbooks offering players the chance to wager on e-sports matches and tournaments like League of Legends and StarCraft. Now, one of the world’s leading online poker operators is getting involved in the market, as PokerStars has struck up a sponsorship deal with Team Liquid.
Team Liquid is a professional esports organisation whose players engage in online gaming at the highest level, such as international tournaments. Members of Team Liquid engage in many different kinds of esports like League of Legends, DOTA, Halo, Hearthstone and CS: GO. The team has plenty of sponsors include Twitch, HTC, Hyper X and Alienware.
PokerStars will join this extensive list of sponsors in a mutually beneficial deal with Team Liquid. The first step will see several members of the team engage in online poker games that will be broadcast to their viewers via Twitch. The first members to do so will be Janne “Savjz” Mikkonen, Jeffrey “Sjow” Brusi, and Dario “TLO” Wünsch.
“I’m happy to announce that I’ll be streaming poker under the PokerStars flag,” says ‘Sjow’. “I used to play a lot before I started my eSports career and it’s a very interesting and complex game. If you want to see an old poker player relearn the game, tune in to my stream.”
In return, PokerStars will be exposed to a wider range of players. Individuals who may not normally be interested in poker will now see their favourite eSports stars engaging in the game. This will increase awareness of the PokerStars brand across a completely different kind of gaming market, and it could be the start of a new trend across the eSports market.