ESL Mobile Open launches with AT&T as founding sponsor

ESL has launched an mobile esports league with AT&T acting as its founding sponsor.

The ESL Mobile Open is aimed at amateur players, giving them opportunities to compete in stadiums around the United States at DreamHack and ESL One events.

Yvette Martinez-Rea, CEO at ESL Gaming North America discussed the league: “We believe that mobile will provide the opportunity to bring the next generation of esports enthusiasts into the fold. A first in the industry, ESL Mobile Open was developed to provide anyone with a phone access to compete at the highest levels with both established and emerging mobile esports titles. AT&T is a natural for this program with their commitment to innovation in esports and gaming and by promoting broad access for players of all types and levels.”

The league will be run all year long and split into three seasons, with the inaugural season kicking off on March 18th. Those involved will initially be able to compete on PUBG Mobile, Clash of Clans, and Asphalt 9: Legends. Most of the action throughout each season will take place online, but the inaugural finals will be hosted at DreamHack Dallas from May 31st. The ESL Mobile Open will have an annual prize pool of $330,000 (£251,946.75).

Shiz Suzuki, AVP of Sponsorships & Experiential Marketing for AT&T Communications also commented: “This is a perfect example of why we chose to work with ESL starting last year – they’re leaders in advancing the technology for esports players at all levels, in addition to delivering great tournament play for fans anywhere. Our sponsorship investments help us grow customer relationships by connecting with their passion for esports, and we’re looking forward to working with ESL to bring online mobile gameplay to our customers and any amateur gamers that want to get onboard with this new league.”

ESL announced AT&T as its North American telecommunications and mobile gaming partner in June last year. To kick off the partnership, a Clash Royale tournament was held at AT&T’s annual SHAPE Technology & Entertainment Expo.

Esports Insider says: This is especially interesting to us as it’s one of the first major initiatives between ESL and AT&T since the partnership. It’s great that the league will provide opportunities for amateur players to play at well-known events; grassroots esports is important and mobile esports are growing so this is a really cool concept overall.

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