Hot on the trail of The International 2018, the Kuala Lumpur Major is hurtling towards us. Monster Energy has been announced as the official product sponsor for the event, the company’s first investment foray in the Dota 2 Major landscape in Southeast Asia.
Dota 2 Kuala Lumpur Takes a Sip of Monster Energy
Esports host and event company PGL has announced that the organization has signed Monster Energy as the official product sponsor for the upcoming Kuala Lumpur Major that will kick off on November 9, 2018 in Malaysia. Monster and PGL have not fleshed out any of the actual financial details of the deal, tweeting a short video presentation instead.
༼つ ◕_◕ ༽つ Kuala Lumpur, take our energy! ༼ つ ◕_◕ ༽つ
We are now the official energy product sponsor of the @PGLesports #KLMajor! pic.twitter.com/tG7ORKCO30
— Monster Gaming (@MonsterGaming) October 15, 2018
Monster previously partnered with the company for the PGL Major Kraków in 2017, supporting the local Counter-Strike: Global Offensive scene. In addition, the beverages company’s logo will be visible on many of the participating teams’ own jersey, including PSG.LGD, Alliance, Evil Geniuses, paiN Gaming, and Fnatic.
Back to the event itself, the Kuala Lumpur Major is one of the qualifying legs for The International 2019 recognized by Valve as such. The event is featuring a respectable $1 million prize pool, which will be divvied up between all 16 participating teams.
With the Group Stage kicking off early in November 9, the Playoffs will take place from November 11 through November 18, followed by the finals. The last three days of the event will take place in front of a live audience at Axiata Arena.
Lasting Partnerships for the Dota 2 Majors
By itself, the Kuala Lumpur Major has managed to attract more sponsors, including food chain KFC and hardware companies Acer Predator, HyperX and Intel, restoring the hopes that Valve may start supporting this type of qualifiers once again.
While Monster is a non-endemic brand, it has been able to lodge itself as the staple drink supplier for esports and remains one of the most easily recognizable names when it comes to competitive gaming.
Similar initiatives have been undertaken by Mountain Dew and Red Bull, with both companies seeking to consolidate their ties with representatives of the esports sector. Meanwhile, Dota 2 is repositioning itself after having catered to exclusively Western audience for several years.
The International 2019 will take place in Shanghai, arriving in the East for the first time and making itself available to exclusively Asian audience. China is one of the bastions of Dota 2, although League of Legends is perhaps the title that takes precedence.
The event will feature some of the best-known faces in the Dota 2 competitive scene, including the runners-up from The International PSG.LGD and the strong North American contenders Evil Geniuses. Alliance and Team Secret will also be coming in to represent Europe.
An ailing Virtus.pro seems to be back in form, after a rather poor performance during The International, estimates the team’s manager, Roman Dvoryankin. Fnatic are the biggest name for Southeast Asia.
With so many great teams playing at the peak of their abilities, a lot of dried Monster Energy cans might be seen all over the place.
