Who sponsors eSports in Russia and the world

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The eSports industry is on everyone's lips, but most clubs have failed to break even. David Dashtoyan, Commercial Director of Tundra Esports, explains who finances Russian and international teams and how to become a sponsor of an eSports club.

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The eSports industry first hit the covers of ivory coast telegram database domestic mainstream publications in 2015, when Alisher Usmanov decided to invest $100 million in Virtus.pro. Since then, eSports has become a regular "newsmaker" in the domestic information space.

International interest in eSports began earlier, but the peak of the “eSports fever” came in 2018, when Deloitte recorded a record investment in the industry: $4.5 billion.

Since then, investor interest in the field has noticeably waned. Esports, which on average grows its audience by 9% per year, has failed to show the expansive growth that venture funds expected. As a result, the industry, which until now lived and developed thanks to venture investments, is faced with an outflow of easily accessible capital and the need to increase commercial revenue.


Sponsors enter the ring
The Covid era has shown that the esports industry has proven to be far more resilient than traditional sports – while football and hockey clubs have been sitting out lockdowns, esports organisations have seen record-breaking reach thanks to the ability to play online from their homes.

The 2019–20 and 2020–21 competitive seasons have been record-breaking for many esports clubs in terms of sponsorship deals, thanks to major brands redirecting sports budgets to support esports competitions and clubs. According to Nielsen, the number of esports sponsorships has grown from 776 deals in 2018 to 1,861 and 1,785 deals in 2019 and 2020, respectively.