Continuing to innovatively expand their reach into new audiences and markets, the Vodafone Warriors today announced they are partnering with Blank Esports, who last year won Best International Performance of the Year at the 2018 Esports Pro Awards.
The New Zealand based team, which will now be known as Warriors Esports, will continue to compete in the Australian Overwatch Contenders League but will aggressively look to expand into other esports before the end of the year.
Vodafone Warriors CEO Cameron George said the new partnership is an exciting new forum for the club to be involved in, as esports continues to grow both locally and globally.
“It’s estimated that this year around 427 million people worldwide will be watching some form of esports, so for the Vodafone Warriors it was a no brainer to have a presence in this growing industry,” he said.
We know that many of our current fans are esports fanatics
Cameron George Vodafone Warriors CEO
“We know that many of our current fans are esports fanatics, as are many of our players, and we also hope to engage a different audience by having a presence through this exciting new partnership.”
Blank Esports chairman Mark David said Blank Esports was excited to be partnering with one of Australasia’s biggest sporting brands.
“The Vodafone Warriors will bring sports science expertise to our players and overall professionalism to how our club operates," he said.
"In return we will expand their brand to a new demographic. This is a fantastic opportunity for Vodafone Warriors fans and New Zealand esports fans to get behind a homegrown success story as we get ready to make Warriors Esports the most successful club in Asia Pacific.”
About Blank Esports:
Blank Esports was founded in 2017 and was one of the first Australasian esport teams to compete internationally. The team has played across Asia Pacific; China in 2017, Taiwan from 2017 to 2018, until finally returning to New Zealand to compete in the Overwatch Contenders Australia in 2019. The team also represented Australia in the 2017 Overwatch World Cup held in Los Angles, where it was placed eighth in the world.
