DreamHack launches the Monster Energy DreamHack Studio
Update: Article now contains quotes from DreamHack Head of eSports Tomas 'greykarn' Hermansson.
DreamHack has announced that Monster Energy will become the title sponsor of the DreamHack TV Studio, forming the Monster Enegy DreamHack Studio.
The premiere broadcast from the studio, the ongoing Dota 2 league ASUS ROG DreamLeague, is celebrating success with 7,800,000 video plays, 2,800,000 hours of watched content and 4,500,000 of unique views/visitors in the first seven weeks of broadcast.
"When the crew at DreamHack decided to take the same energy and talent for building top tier eSports events and turn it towards creating an eSport dedicated studio, we knew we had to be a part of it,” said Monster Energy Gaming and eSports Marketing Manager Matt Simpson. “We’re thrilled to be partnering with DreamHack Studios in their goal to help bring the love of eSports to the masses and look forward to the new boundary-pushing content that they are known for.”
“We’re extremely happy to have Monster Energy® on board as one of our core partners in eSports and to provide even more eSports content from our Studio,” said Robert Ohlén, CEO of DreamHack. “Monster Energy show that they are serious about their commitment and support of the eSports community, with supporting both Monster Energy DreamHack Studios and DreamHack Open 2014.”
As a kick-off of the partnership, DreamHack will offer all Dota 2 fans in Stockholm and Sweden the possibility to come and visit the Monster Energy DreamHack Studios during the ASUS ROG DreamLeague Super Weekend, Saturday 10th of May and Sunday 11th of May. During two full days fans will be able to watch 12 matches of the ASUS ROG DreamLeague as it commences, but also meet caster personalities from the GD Studio in-person, including James ‘2GD’ Harding, Andy ‘Draskyl’ Stiles, David ‘Luminous’ Zhang and Bruno ‘StatsmanBruno’ Carlucci.
"As the first step, we'll have open doors during ASUS ROG DreamLeague Super weekend, powered by Monster Energy this upcoming weekend," DreamHack Head of eSports Tomas 'greykarn' Hermansson told onGamers. "We believe in many similar events in the future, where we give the community a chance to visit the studios but also experience eSports live on-site. We will host more in-studio tournaments this coming year. We're very eager to announce more shows, broadcasts and events in the studio together with Monster Energy."
Hermansson says the new sponsorship will open opportunities that were not available beforehand.
"This partnership is a very important thing for the studio project, just like we signed our early and ongoing partnership with MTG at launch," he said. "We had been in search for a title sponsor and Monster Energy feels like a perfect match, since they're already very involved in eSports and have good networking contacts with both Monster sponsored eSports stars and other athletes. We'll now be able to produce more regular stuff in more titles, but we'll keep that a secret for now. But I think, in general, involving lifestyle brands like Monster Energy into eSports is a important step for the future growth of eSports."
Redbull, among other energy drink companies, are tightly infused into sponsorships of several teams and players within competitive gaming. Hermansson doesn't believe there will be a conflict with such entities if they compete at the studio.
"Startale Life won DreamHack Open Bucharest, and DreamHack Open 2014 is sponsored by Monster Energy as well, so I don't think we'll have that problem," he said. "I think we have seen Monster Energy sponsored players playing in events supported by other energy brands - and I believe everyone involved is interested in building a sustainable ecosystem for eSports."
Earlier this month, DreamHack & Monster Energy announced their partnership for the DreamHack Open 2014 circuit, where Monster Energy will be one of the main partners and provide the exclusive energy drink.
More information about the event will be posted shortly at dota2.dreamhack.se.